SHOCKING
ADMISSION
BY
CALTEX
OF
WORKER
WAGE
THEFT BY
FRANCHISEES
1 May 2017
SA
Unions
says
today's
announcement
by
Caltex
that it
will
establish
a $20m
assistance
fund for
ripped-off
workers
is a
shocking
admission
of
chronic
worker
exploitation.
The
company
made the
announcement
this
morning
after
months
of media
coverage
about
entrenched
underpayment
of
workers
across
the
country
-
including
at
franchisees
in South
Australia.
SA
Unions
State
Secretary,
Joe
Szakacs
says
Caltex
has
revealed
that it
has
taken
action
to audit
franchisees
and has
terminated
agreements
with 19
franchisees
for wage
theft or
other
non-compliance
workplace
audit
requirements.
"Caltex
has made
a point
of
saying
that the
establishment
of the
new Fund
will not
prejudice
the
ability
of
franchisee
employees
to see
redress
from
their
employers."
"SA
Unions
Young
Workers'
Legal
Service
and the
SDA have
been
representing
a group
of
employees
from
multiple
businesses
in South
Australia
involving
more
than ten
petrol
stations
in
total."
"These
workers
were not
given
pay
slips,
they
were
underpaid
-
earning
as
little
as $12
an hour
- and in
some
cases,
there
was no
tax paid
on their
wages."
"The
problem
with
Caltex's
new
Assistance
Fund is
that it
only
allows
employees
to claim
underpayments
for the
period
from
2015 to
date."
SDA's
Assistant
Secretary,
Josh
Peak,
from the
union
which
represents
workers
in
petrol
stations,
says
they are
aware of
one case
in which
a young
man
worked
for a
franchisee
from as
early as
2011."
"Because
of the
inadequacy
of
Caltex's
announcement,
a number
of our
clients
will
once
again be
left
stranded
by
Caltex."
"Caltex
must
expand
the time
period
to fully
compensate
workers
employed
by these
businesses."