Federal Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, today attended the Ballarat public hearings into Corporate Avoidance of the Fair Work Act, held by the Senate Committee on Education and Employment.
Ms King welcomed the hearings as an opportunity to hear from workers and their representatives.
“We too often hear of employees being subjected to bullying or exploitation, and any step taken to address these issues is a positive,” Ms King said.
“Through people who come to my office seeking help and through other groups such as Ballarat Trades Hall, I have heard far too many stories of vulnerable workers being ripped off. These people are being denied their entitlements to fair wages, proper superannuation and the conditions to which they are entitled.”
“While it may only be a minority of Ballarat businesses that are engaged in this type of behaviour all the workers that are being ripped off deserve their stories to be heard and their mistreatment to be rectified.”
“Businesses who believe that they can get away with paying their workers below the award rate or under the table with cash in hand need to understand that are breaking the law, and that they will be found out and punished.”
“Workers in Ballarat deserve proper payment and fair treatment in return for their time and hard work”
The Senate Committee will sit in Ballarat throughout today before further sittings in Melbourne tomorrow.
Any workers needing assistance with understanding their rights at work is encouraged to call the Ballarat Trades Labour Council on 5332 3666 or the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
TUESDAY, MARCH 14th 2017