An international student from Pakistan exposed 7-Eleven's unjust methods of paying its workers. Maurice Blackburn, who played a key role in exposing the underpayment at the famous convenience store chain, said that he received as little as 47 cents an hour to work.
On Monday, the lawyers representing the student claimed that 7-Eleven was not paying some its workers in accordance with the law. The Huffington Post reported that the allegation made by Mr. Blackburn is the latest series to plague the 7-Eleven chain.
Maurice Blackburn's employment principal, Giri Sivaraman, said that the wages of his client would take a day's work to be able to get him a cup of coffee and would take two day's work to buy a sandwich. Sivaraman said that this kind of issue should not be happening in Australia and that the government should take action to avoid consequences in the future.
"This indicates the scale of this horrific employee exploitation," Sivaraman added.
The law firm, then calls for a mandatory employment education program which tackles Australian's standard of paying international workers and conditions they are entitled to. According to ABC News, the law firm invites unions and affected workers to raise their voices on the federal government to establish such educational program.
Sivaraman also criticized the federal government's 'radio silence' over the underpayment issue, adding that every single worker that they have spoken has been totally unaware of their rights, as reported by New Matilda.
Meanwhile, a representative from 7-Eleven said that the chain store did not condone the underpayment of workers and that the company was 'appalled' by the wage exploitation issue. The chain store also said that the accusations were set up by a former competition, Professor Allan Fel's Wage Fairness Panel. Fel's company is known for its harsh criticism towards 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven announced on February 2 that it had appointed a former police officer to investigate fraud and other criminal activities within Australia.
