Corporate fraud - 7-11's $100million underpayment to workers in Australia

What was that the Turnbull gov is going to an election on again? Oh yes, evil union corruption....

The giant 7-11 corporation in Australia has been seriously caught with it's pants well and truly down. In what may be the case of the biggest underpayment of wages in Australia's history, 7-11 may well have to pay around $100 million in wages to past and present employees. 

After investigations and raids by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), it was found underpayment of wages was systemic within the organisation and unbelievably, part of it's business model.

There's only one word for that; fraud. 

Convenience store giant 7-Eleven could have to repay up to $100 million in compensation to more than 2000 past and present employees, with the scandal looming as the biggest case of wage fraud in Australian corporate history. 

A compensation panel headed by former competition tsar Allan Fels is ramping up its processing of claims, and has called for the government to consider establishing a permanent wage fairness panel to adjudicate back pay claims in instances where evidence of systemic worker exploitation is reported at a particular business. 

Professor Fels told Fairfax Media there were 2000 claims from current and former workers at 7-Eleven that were being processed, with new claims still coming in. 

So far the panel has paid 300 workers a total of $10 million in back pay, which he says is equivalent to an average payout of $38,000. He wouldn't be drawn on how much the final payout would be. 

But based on the current payout rate, it could be anywhere between $60 million and $100 million. 

If the tally tops $100 million it would place 7-Eleven's back pay claim as the highest in Australia's history, eclipsing the payout of Ansett workers following the airline's collapse. Canberra Times