7-Eleven operators fined for exploiting Indian, Zimbabwe students

April 27th, 2011 - 3:18 pm ICT by ANI  

Melbourne, Apr. 27 (ANI): Two former 7-Eleven operators have been fined 150,000 Australian dollars after exploiting six international students from Zimbabwe and India.

A Fair Work Ombudsman declared owners of stores in Park Street, South Yarra and Moorabool Street, Geelong, guilty for deliberately falsified information to the 7-Eleven head office about the number of hours worked and the students’ rates of pay.

Toorak couple Hao Chen and Xue Jing were fined 20,000 dollars and 10,000 dollars respectively in a Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, and their private company, Bosen Pty Ltd, a further 120,000 dollars. Both were charged with numerous breaches of workplace laws relating to underpayment and record keeping, The Age reports.

Magistrate Kate Hawkins ordered them to back-pay the students almost 90,000 dollars.

“The conduct was a systematic and significant exploitation of highly vulnerable workers,” she said.

The students, aged 18 to 26, were paid flat hourly rates of between nine and twelve dollars, but were entitled to be paid more than double that for many of their shifts. (ANI)

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