A café owner in New South Wales has been slapped with a record penalty for exploiting five workers including Indians on 457 visas.
Fares Ghazale, the former owner-operator of the Canteen Cuisine Café in Albury also issued threats of violence and withdrawal of support for their visas to the employees if they refused to comply with his directions to repay him a part of their wages.
The Federal Circuit Court has ordered Ghazale to pay a penalty of $88,810 and his company $444,100. The penalty is the highest ever achieved as a result of Fair Work Ombudsman legal action.
The accused Ghazale of coercion, adverse action, underpayment of minimum lawful entitlements and providing false records in case of the Indian employees.
One of the employees gave affidavit evidence that Ghazale told him: “If anything happens to my business, I will kill you. If you complain to anyone, I will kill you and cancel your visa”.
One of the workers had been sponsored by Ghazale’s company on a 457 skilled worker visa and he was in Australia with his Indian wife, who was dependent on his visa to stay in Australia.
The second worker was on a bridging visa while his application for a 457 visa was pending.
Though Ghazale had promised the two workers annual salaries in excess of $50,000, he paid them flat rates of $1,000 and $830 respectively for working 60 hours per week, including weekends.
Fair Work Ombudsman alleged that in addition to shortchanging the employees, the used threats to make them return a big part of their wages in cash, leaving them with as little as $6 an hour.
A Fair Work investigation found the two Indian and three Australian workers were underpaid $87,909.
In his judgment, Judge Tom Altobelli found that the treatment of the Indian employees was “grossly exploitative” and described the conduct as “highly aggravating and extremely serious” and “particularly saddening”.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says the record penalties send a clear message that there are serious consequences for deliberately exploiting overseas workers in Australia.
Business models built around blatant exploitation of overseas workers are completely unacceptable. They create an uneven playing ground for the majority of business owners who do the right thing and tarnish the reputation of business in Australia.
“These record penalties are a big blow in the fight to stamp out deliberate exploitation of overseas workers in Australia,” Ms James said.
“The minority of rogue employers in Australia intent on preying on the vulnerability of overseas workers should be warned that we will do everything in our power to pursue you and hold you to account.
“Business models built around blatant exploitation of overseas workers are completely unacceptable. They create an uneven playing ground for the majority of business owners who do the right thing and tarnish the reputation of business in Australia,” Ms James said.
