Australian government to introduce bill barring 'wage theft' Monday

Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott called proposed changes "unworkable" on Friday, telling Sky News, "It's going to add to cost, add to complexity, make it harder to get casual work, make it harder to employ people".

These people are the pinnacle of shamelessness in an increasingly shameless world. Coles and Woolworths were underpaying workers for years, Woolworths to the tune of 390 million AUD! Where did this money go? People like Westacott - a mouthpiece for shareholder theft - want it all their way so that this is easier to carry on.

Burke said in a speech last week that in addition to criminalising "wage theft", the bill would make it easier for casual workers to gain permanent roles, scrutinise the use of labor hire firms to undercut minimum pay rates, and introduce minimum standards for "gig economy" workers, including in food delivery and rideshare apps.

The US and especially Japan have a long long way to go to catch up with Australia to stem this epidemic of criminality that punishes the hard-working for non-living wages who are robbed again by some of the biggest corporations in a free-for-all of wage theft.

And usually escape virtually unpunished.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/12/4934d1eda322-seven-eleven-failed-to-pay-wage-portions-to-store-workers-for-years.html?phrase=persimmon&words=

Only wage thieves would not welcome these changes.

Wage-theft... that would include "income taxes" then.

Hervé L'EisaToday  01:39 pm JST

Wage-theft... that would include "income taxes" then.

No not really. With income taxes, while you lose some of your earnings you get it back in services and other ways such as infrastructure. With wage theft the victim gets nothing back.

How in the world could you be against this?

OssanAmericaToday 02:07 pm JST

while you lose some of your earnings you get it back in services and other ways such as infrastructure.

"Some" of it back, at best, and I contend its a very small "some". A massive chunk of it goes to extreme over-policing, funding unnecessary but profitable (for some) wars, and internet tracking and censorship. Taking a dollar from you to use 90 cents of it against you, and 10 cents to pave a road is indeed wage theft.

The only fair tax on us poor is sales tax, if its not something crazy, like 10 percent even on food (looking at YOU Japan).

This is the kind of bill many countries need. But the rich people the so-called capitalist nations adore won't like it. The people better start organizing, marching and threatening to strike if they want to see it become a law.

The only fair tax on us poor is sales tax, if its not something crazy, like 10 percent even on food (looking at YOU Japan).

Utter cant and shillery and the acme of disinfo.

Sales are the most regressive taxes, especially when applied to daily use items like in Japan.

Crank up those corporate and capital gains taxes like in the times of max prosperity and close all the tax evasion loopholes of corporations and billionaires.

Any honest employer would want other employers to be honest as well.

Any honest employer would want other employers to be honest as well.

You would think so. Governments have let big firms get away with so much for so long that in most lines of business honesty has sadly become a competitive disadvantage. In too many industries the honest players have all been driven out by the cheaters. In my long working life I have had dozens of private employers and of those only two were completely honest, a small defense contractor (amazing for that industry btw) and a mom and pop BMW motorcycle shop. Every single other firm I worked for knowingly and willingly broke laws, cheating customers, their employees, their suppliers, their subcontractors, the tax man, labor laws or some combination of these. Imagine being told to take your empty gasoline tank truck to a big auto wrecking yard, go over to the slop tank where all the fuel, oil and coolant removed from wrecked cars is stored and instead of disposing of it as hazardous waste you are told to load it, manifest it as fresh gasoline and deliver it to a gas station ! Yes this happens. And if you say no you are fired on the spot.

How in the world could you be against this?

I doubt anyone is against the "idea", but the details usually have many compromises that don't make these types of laws far to all involved.

Also, if there is higher costs just to implement the new law, it is likely that a few of the low-wage earners will have to go so that someone else can ensure the law is being followed. After all, businesses are supposed to maximize profit legally, as their primary goal.

If a business uses illegal workers, they are already violating laws, so violating other laws is just another way to be caught and have everything crumble when that happens.

Places that hire independent, unskilled, "day workers", don't usually have paperwork. Anyone can carry bricks, wood, clean floors, or wash dishes. Not having records/names/paperwork is one method to avoid a paper trail that prosecution could use. Paying cash avoids the detailed financial trail too.

"Fair", not "far" - sorry.