Jail should be given to employers involved in ‘wage theft’ from their staff, the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) of Australia says.
The TWU is calling for governments to “hold employers to account over wage theft” that TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon says is widespread in the transport industry,
The call came during his speech at the TWU’s national council meeting in Fremantle.
Though no trucking firms were named, Sheldon spoke about a Victorian driver who had been affected.
“Then there are transport companies like the one truck driver Stephen McCormack worked for who didn’t need a sham agreement to hide the fact that they were stealing from his pay-check,” he says.
“Time and again Stephen would question why his wages were short. In the end they sacked him.”
Sheldon says the driver and his wife are struggling, trying to keep up payments on their house and for him to find another job.
“Stephen is not alone,” Sheldon says. “Wage theft is endemic in the transport industry, creating financial pressure on truck drivers that ultimately kills people by forcing drivers to speed, drive long hours and skip mandatory rest breaks just to put food on the table.”
Also talking about “superannuation theft”, Sheldon says a report by Industry Super Australia shows in 2013-2014 that employers failed to pay $5.6 billion in super payments.
“The report shows transport was identified as one of the worst industries for non-payment of super.”
Sheldon says tightening margins, and in many cases greed, have made wage and superannuation theft a business model.
The union says it will seek support from the Labor Party to change the law to ensure wage theft by employers throughout the supply chain is made a criminal offence.
“We support firm action against rogue elements in our ranks and businesses. Union officials face jail terms, therefore employers should also be held accountable to the same level with jail terms if they steal from the pay-packets of their employees.”
