Legal Minimum Wage Case Study
Chinese restaurants are ripping off international students, paying wages as little as $10 an hour and take advantage of students desired need for work.
A large number of foreign students in this cash industry, where visa restrictions are broke, receive wages well below the legal entitlement, and laws on working conditions are ignored.
Restaurants in Melbourne’s China Town and Chadstone shopping centre are paying wages below the legal minimum wage of $17.70 an hour.
Chinese student Chiquita Yu is working at a restaurant in Chadstone shopping centre and is paid $10 an hour.
“I work for 30 hours a week,” she said. “I know it’s illegal but my boss decides my working schedule.”
“They prefer stable and long time staffs if you just want to work …show more content…
In this industry many people are not paid according to an award system and don’t have any forms of contract with the employer, without sick leave, super and holidays.
Some Chinese restaurant placing employees on unpaid day-long or even one-week trials.
Deakin University student, Ice Li who works at a Southeast suburb restaurant said that she had worked for six hours at a Chinese restaurant and received no pay.
The Chinese student found this job online for $12 an hour, and was disappointed for the underpayment.
“My boss told me that I have no working experience, so I needed to learn for a period of time without any wages,” she said.
After the trial Ms Li was paid $10 cash and over time that goes up to …show more content…
“I had to work there because I need money even though I knew it was low pay, it was still money,” she said.
However, Chiquita Yu is satisfied with the low salary because her poor English made it hard to secure work elsewhere.
And she likes to work in Chinese business because it made her feel connected to her home country.
Nina Walsh, the staff of Deakin international student job centre said almost all high-paying jobs they offered demand English.
“We also provide some translation and Mandarin tutor jobs for Chinese students but English is still important,” she said.
International students have no choice but to take these jobs due to the language barrier.
The Redfern Legal Centre has an international student service and dealt with workplace exploitation for 53 cases in 2014.
The Fair Work Ombudsman recouped $1.1 million wages and entitlements for almost 700 visa holders in 2014
A restaurant named vege2go in Brunswick was forced to repay $17,000 to a foreign worker by the union United Voice, $12,500 of it for alleged underpayment.
Chiquita said casual staffs who complain about the illegal salary would be sacked and threatened with being reported to immigration officials for beyond the visa permitted working
A large number of foreign students in this cash industry, where visa restrictions are broke, receive wages well below the legal entitlement, and laws on working conditions are ignored.
Restaurants in Melbourne’s China Town and Chadstone shopping centre are paying wages below the legal minimum wage of $17.70 an hour.
Chinese student Chiquita Yu is working at a restaurant in Chadstone shopping centre and is paid $10 an hour.
“I work for 30 hours a week,” she said. “I know it’s illegal but my boss decides my working schedule.”
“They prefer stable and long time staffs if you just want to work …show more content…
In this industry many people are not paid according to an award system and don’t have any forms of contract with the employer, without sick leave, super and holidays.
Some Chinese restaurant placing employees on unpaid day-long or even one-week trials.
Deakin University student, Ice Li who works at a Southeast suburb restaurant said that she had worked for six hours at a Chinese restaurant and received no pay.
The Chinese student found this job online for $12 an hour, and was disappointed for the underpayment.
“My boss told me that I have no working experience, so I needed to learn for a period of time without any wages,” she said.
After the trial Ms Li was paid $10 cash and over time that goes up to …show more content…
“I had to work there because I need money even though I knew it was low pay, it was still money,” she said.
However, Chiquita Yu is satisfied with the low salary because her poor English made it hard to secure work elsewhere.
And she likes to work in Chinese business because it made her feel connected to her home country.
Nina Walsh, the staff of Deakin international student job centre said almost all high-paying jobs they offered demand English.
“We also provide some translation and Mandarin tutor jobs for Chinese students but English is still important,” she said.
International students have no choice but to take these jobs due to the language barrier.
The Redfern Legal Centre has an international student service and dealt with workplace exploitation for 53 cases in 2014.
The Fair Work Ombudsman recouped $1.1 million wages and entitlements for almost 700 visa holders in 2014
A restaurant named vege2go in Brunswick was forced to repay $17,000 to a foreign worker by the union United Voice, $12,500 of it for alleged underpayment.
Chiquita said casual staffs who complain about the illegal salary would be sacked and threatened with being reported to immigration officials for beyond the visa permitted working