Aussie homestead penalized for underpaying overseas backpacker workers

SYDNEY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The operators of a homestead in Australia's Northern Territory have been fined nearly 57,000 Australian dollars by the courts for underpaying 17 backpacker workers from overseas, authorities said on Wednesday.

The Barkly Homestead, which includes accommodation, a restaurant and a roadhouse, employed the victims on a full-time basis, mostly as cleaners and waiters, at a flat wage rate of 19.21 Australian dollars between October 2015 and April 2016, according to a statement from the Fair Work Ombudsman government agency regulating workplace issues.

The employees, who were mostly in Australia on popular working holiday visas, "worked an average of 48 hours per week, leading to significant underpayment of their weekday overtime rates," said the agency.

The underpayments totaled nearly 24,000 Australian dollars and workers were back-paid in full last year, except for three who have not been located, it said.

A federal court in the Northern Territory's Alice Springs town imposed the fine following legal action by the workplace regulator. Agency head Natalie James said the penalty sends a message to employers that they have a lawful obligation to adhere to minimum pay rates.

Ignoring the minimum rates and shortchanging workers' basic entitlements is "completely unacceptable conduct," she said.

Australia's working holiday visas are popular among foreign students who want to travel and work in the country, with many of them filling vacancies in the agricultural and services sectors. (1 U.S. dollar equalls 1.33 Australian dollars) Enditem