Bakery operator penalised $60,480 for exploiting Indian worker in Australia
Darpan News Desk IANS, 23 May, 2023 11:45 AM
Melbourne, May 23 (IANS) An Australian court has imposed a penalty of $60,480 on a bakery operator in Melbourne for not giving back-pay entitlements to a worker from India, thus "taking advantage of the migrant worker's vulnerability".
The Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed a $50,400 penalty against Gothic Downs Pty Ltd, which operates Bakers Boutique & Patisserie outlets, and a $10,080 penalty against the company's sole director Giuseppe Conforto.
Judge Heather Riley inferred that the Indian worker, who was sponsored by Gothic Downs on a Temporary Work Skilled visa, was "vulnerable" and that the company and Conforto "took advantage of her vulnerability".
The penalties were imposed in response to Gothic Downs failing to comply with compliance notices issued by Australian regulatory authority Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) in 2019.
The notices required the firm to calculate and back-pay entitlements to two workers, including an Indian, it employed at Bakers Boutique & Patisserie outlets in Meadow Heights and Caroline Springs between 2016 and 2018.
The FWO investigated after receiving requests for assistance from the two affected workers -- one of whom was a pastry cook and the other was a sales assistant.
The probe found that Gothic Downs had underpaid the workers' minimum wages, early morning shift rates, weekend and public holiday penalty rates and overtime rates under the General Retail Industry Award 2010, and one of the worker's leave entitlements under the Fair Work Act's National Employment Standards.
Judge Riley found that the breaches were deliberate and rejected the company and Conforto's claim that they were confused about how much was owing to the workers.
"To my mind, the respondents' protestations ring hollow, in circumstances where they did not pay even the minimum amounts that they conceded were owing until long after the compliance notices required rectification," Judge Riley said.
He said there was a need to impose penalties at a level to provide "an adequate deterrent" for the company and "others who may be tempted to behave as they have".
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said business operators that fail to act on Compliance Notices need to be aware they can face penalties in court on top of having to back-pay workers.
"Employers need to be aware that taking action to protect vulnerable workers like visa holders continues to be a priority for the FWO. Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance," she said.
Haryana girl Nishtha Dudeja has proved that disability cannot come in the way of success. She has won the Miss Deaf Asia 2018 title at an international pageant held in Prague recently.
The national memorial, located at Villers-Guislain, about 200 km from Paris, will have India's national emblem and is distinct from the Indian Memorial at Neuve Chappelle which was built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
NASA has used certain characters from modern myths such as the "Hulk" and "Godzilla" to name its new set of 21 gamma-ray constellations constructed in celebration of its Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope's 10th year of operations.
Dewji, 43-year-old CEO of the METL Group family conglomerate, was kidnapped by unknown men on October 11 while he was going for his early morning workout in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
The resolution stated that the Sikh genocide began on November 1, 1984, after the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in Delhi. It further says that the Sikh genocide lasted three days and over 30,000 Sikhs were brutally murdered.
