Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my great pleasure to rise in continuation to speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017. As I said in my brief contribution earlier, I am absolutely delighted that the Turnbull government is introducing tougher laws to protect vulnerable workers from cashback scams and other types of exploitation. The deliberate underpayment of workers is all too common in Australia, and I have to say it is with great pride that members on our side of the House are initiating this very important reform. I commend the Minister for Employment, Senator Michaelia Cash, who has absolutely led the way with this reform, which sends the very strong message that employers who want to rip off workers will no longer be tolerated under a Liberal-National government. That is what this bill is all about. As I mentioned, widespread underpayment, exploitation and ripping-off of workers have been uncovered at a wide range of workplaces, including 7-Eleven, Muffin Break, Gloria Jean's, Subway, Caltex, Domino's and Pizza Hut. Of course, not only is the underpayment of workers unfair and absolutely unlawful for the workers involved; but the competing businesses that do the right thing face higher costs because they are complying with the law.

The government has committed to strong action to protect vulnerable workers, as set out in our policy of protecting vulnerable workers as released in May 2016. Announced then were amendments to the Fair Work Act to tighten the law and increase penalties to prevent worker exploitation and the establishment of a Migrant Workers' Taskforce to target employers who exploit migrant workers and continue to monitor the progress of 7-Eleven in rectifying worker underpayments, chaired by the former ACCC chair, Allan Fels, who was the chair of the Trade Practices Commission. What a shame it was that when Allan Fels—who was doing such a superb job when he was engaged by 7-Eleven to unveil these corrupt and unlawful practices—started to get to the truth, the truth was all a bit too much for 7-Eleven and they decided to terminate his services. Shame on 7-Eleven for that very inappropriate conduct. The policy is also boosting funding to the Fair Work Ombudsman by $20 million to ensure that the regulator has the resources to investigate and prosecute employers who exploit workers. The government has already established a task force and provided the additional funding to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Now, of course, we have the bill before this parliament. As I said before, I am very pleased to see that members opposite have recognised our good work in this area and are supporting the bill. The bill amends the Fair Work Act to increase penalties for serious contraventions of payment-related protections in the Fair Work Act. These higher penalties, which are 10 times the current penalties, will apply where contraventions are systematic and deliberate. There will be increased penalties for breaches of record keeping and pay slip requirements. Cashbacks and other coercive behaviour by employers will be outlawed, where employees may have been paid correctly but then forced by their employer to repay part of their wages. Mr Deputy Speaker, it seems unbelievable that that happens in workplaces, but I can assure you that it does. In fact, I am very proud of the steps that we took in relation to one worker in Geelong. I will only call him by the name of Joseph. I do not want to identify him completely. He worked at 7-Eleven. He was—

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