Underpaid Korean backpackers in Australia get their dues back

More than 90 Korean backpackers have been underpaid thousands of dollars while working on a farm in Australia, however the matter is all water under the bridge as local authorities have helped them get their dues back.

The backpackers, who were on 417 working holiday visas, were employed by labour contractor Boonah Packing, Fairfax Media reported on Wednesday.

Boonah Packing supplied labour to Scott Moffatt & Co, trading as Moffatt Fresh Produce, to sort and pack carrots on a farm at Tarome, 100 kilometres south-west of Brisbane.

Moffatt Fresh Produce supplies carrots to markets in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and packages and provides produce to major supermarket chains including Woolworths and Aldi.

An investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman found the price paid by Moffatt to Boonah Packing was sufficient for the labour-hire contractor to meet its obligations to pay minimum wages under the Horticulture Award 2010.

But after a complaint from one employee that he was underpaid, the Fair Work Ombudsman found Boonah Packing had short-changed almost 100 casual workers more than 16,000 Australian dollars (12,000 Australian dollars) between July 2015 and January 2016.

The employee who complained was underpaid 512 Australian dollars (386 U.S. dollars) and the other 95 were underpaid a combined 16,198 Australian dollars (12,000 U.S. dollars).

Ninety-three of the underpaid workers were Korean visa-holders, 92 of them 417 working holiday makers and one was an international student.

The workers were sometimes paid a flat rate of 21.08 Australian dollars (15.93 U.S. dollars) and "piece rates" at other times. A piece rate is where an employee gets paid for the amount picked, packed, pruned or made.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the company cooperated with an investigation, started back-payments to underpaid employees and entered into an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

James said fruit and vegetable growers relied heavily on seasonal labour and these workers were often visa-holders from non-English speaking backgrounds who may have been unaware of their workplace rights.

"Outsourcing is a legitimate business arrangement but in my experience, in highly competitive markets for low-skilled work, it also increases the risk that workers will be underpaid, sometimes quite deliberately," James said.

Since then, the company has registered with the Fair Work Ombudsman's My Account portal and provide employees with workplace access to the National Employment Standards and the Horticulture Award 2010.

The company would also distribute to new employees a Fair Work Information Statement and information about the Fair Work Ombudsman, employer records and pay-slip obligations for any new backpacker it employs in this farm from now on. Enditem