A joint Fairfax-Four Corners investigation has uncovered that around two-thirds of 7-Eleven stores across Australia are ruthlessly exploiting foreign workers – many of them students – by paying them just $10 an hour and making them work long shifts without a break:
Explosive internal documents reveal that between July and August this year 7-Eleven head office reviewed the payroll compliance at 225 stores and found that 69 stores had ongoing payroll issues.
This is equivalent to one in four stores based on one month’s review.
The range of apparently illegal activity by franchisees extends beyond wage fraud and includes blackmail and withholding passports and drivers licences of staff.
The documents, seen by the joint investigation, show franchisees are continuing to flout the law and are continuing to underpay staff even when caught out by the Fair Work Ombudsman…
It was the third time in six years the wage regulator had conducted raids on 7-Eleven with each raid showing little improvement…
In September… the regulator found that 60 per cent of stores raided were underpaying staff…
The Four Corners and Fairfax Media joint investigation has seen evidence that franchisees are flouting penalty rates as well as not paying the minimum wage. Overtime rates for shifts exceeding 10 hours are also not being paid, according to the internal documents.
It can also be revealed scores of stores are not paying penalty rates for Saturday, Sunday, public holidays or night shifts.
It is also alleged in the report that some 7-Eleven franchisees have made foreign students work hours that are in excess of their visa requirements before threatening to go to the authorities to have their visa cancelled if they complain about their pay or working conditions.
Former ACCC head, Alan Fels, has slated the blame for the wage rorting on the company’s model, which charges 7-Eleven franchisees such high fees (57% of gross profit) that they have little choice but to cut costs any way that they can or risk going broke:
“It seems to me that the business model will only work for the franchisee if they underpay or overwork employees.
“I think the fact that so many people are not being paid by Australian standards undermines the whole foreign guest worker laws and regulations that we have.
“The general understanding, I believe, by the Australian community is that we are prepared to have foreign guest workers providing that Australian standards are conformed with.”
Professor Fels added that while franchisees are at fault for underpaying staff they were often being put into an almost impossible situation by the franchise agreement imposed by the “powerful franchisor”, 7-Eleven head office.
The full Fairfax-Four Corners report will be aired tonight at 8.30pm on the ABC.
The report represents a quadrella on foreign worker visa rorts after Four Corners also uncovered earlier in the year Job Network rorts, 417 working holiday rorts on farms, and international education university cheating and plagiarism rorts.
