NORTH WEST MATTERS
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It’s important that workers check their pay against the provisions in their industrial instru- ment over every pay period. One must keep a diary of all shifts worked and constantly keep track of their wage. Whilst we can request records under the Fair Work Regulations, this can be a tedious process and we often see employers skirt around the law to provide as little as possible. There are still way too many workers out there that are full of apathy and cannot be bothered checking their pay. But when money governs everything we do in life, it The amount of wage theft that occurs as a re- sult of poor payroll systems never ceases to amaze me. One would assume that an emplo- yee engaged in payroll couldn’t F@#K things up so badly. After all, they only have one job, but it’s a constant. Another issue that continues to rise is the contractual corruption of salaried employees working overtime for free. Or, as the employer likes to call it, ‘reasonable overtime’. What a F@#king joke! No one should be expected to work for free. Penalty rates were first introdu- ced in Australia in 1947 and need to be main- tained. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with a salary or a flat rate that properly incorporates penalty rates, employees need to understand exactly what they are signing up for and en- sure that it meets the legal requirement. But that’s where we circle back to naivety and the lack of education. In WA the only education a student might re- ceive is a year 11 ‘elective’ called workers mo- vements. Other than that, there’s nothing in the high school syllabus relevant to gaining a proper understanding of the Fair Work Act, interpretation of the Federal & State Award system or Enterprise Agreements. Unfortuna- tely, most workers find out the hard way. If you believe you have been underpaid, do not hesitate to reach out to your organiser to discuss and seek assistance in recovering what you are owed. should be a given that workers ensure they get paid properly.
Wage theft Recovering stolen wages for workers is one of the most satisfying parts of working for a Union, althou- gh it’s often stemmed with heartache and misery for our members. It’s actually quite incredible the breaches of Indus- trial instruments that happen on a daily basis. There are a number of reasons why this takes place, one being unscrupulous employers taking advantage of their workers, another being the naivety of both employee’s and low-level management who don’t even know what entitlements exist. It’s one thing to go and negotiate a decent enter- prise agreement on behalf of our members and it’s another trying to maintain those provisions, which of course takes up a substantial amount of an orga- nisers time and the unions legal resources. Albeit it’s important that we maintain an employee’s mini- mum legal entitlement, otherwise what’s the point of locking in good wages and conditions in the first place! Once upon a time workers would simply withdraw their labour when they got ripped off by the boss. Unfortunately, it’s now illegal to do so and it’s got- ten to a point where the culture has shifted so much that many young workers feel as though they are doing something wrong by asking to be paid co- rrectly. We ’ re not trying to rock the boat, just trying to keep the god damn thing afloat.
I don’t care if a worker is underpaid $5 or $50,000, it’s the principle of the matter. If an employer is transparent, unbiased and pay their employees properly then they should have a somewhat ha- ppy and productive workforce. But, more often than not, too many managers engage in nepotism, brush issues under the rug and treat their workers like shit, which is usually the catalyst for a toxic, dysfunctional workforce. One would think that if an employer commits an offence there would be an officer to enforce the law and prosecute them. Similarly, to the way a person would be fined or face jail time if they break the law. Though this is not really the case. Whilst the Fair Work Ombudsmen was set up with the in- tention to investigate and enforce compliance with Australia’s workplace laws, they don’t litigate every matter that is brought before them and usually opt for the low hanging fruit. So, this leaves workers with minimal options, either they engage a lawyer to represent them or a Union. A friend of mine was recently underpaid $11,000 and given that he wasn’t a Union member, he en- gaged an independent lawyer to represent him. Which in turn ended up costing him $7,000. Not really a win! If you’re an existing MUA member, we provide legal representation as a part of your membership. The WA Branch executive has taken a view to prose- cute employers in the Industrial Magistrates Court and seek to enforce the highest possible penalty. For far too long we have run disputes in the Fair Work Commission that generally end up with an employer getting a slap on the wrist. Hardly a de- terrent.
Joel Obrien North West Organiser Mobile: 0456 927 710 Email: joel.obrien@mua.org.au
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