The fact that Chinese restaurants pay less than Australia's minimum pay has always been a secret. Recently, a pancake chain called Bing Boy was exposed by the Fair work Council (Fair Work Ombudsman).
Some Taiwanese employees, including a backpacker with a 417 work holiday visa, were paid A $13 an hour while working at Bing Boy, and there was no subsidy for weekend overtime.
In a recorded inquiry, the chain's operator told investigators that an hourly salary of A $10 is ubiquitous in Chinese restaurants in Melbourne, while an hourly salary of A $13 has been considered a "high salary" in the industry. Acceptable to most employees.
Bing Boy's two Melbourne-based stores have also been found to have withheld nearly A $10000 in salaries for two employees over a three-month period. The two employees were unlawfully defined by Bing Boy as apprentices, but never signed any formal training contracts.
"employers can't arbitrarily exploit the minimum legal rights and interests of employees based on what they see as reasonable prices, acceptable prices, or salary levels in their country of origin," said Natalie James, a fair-job commissioner.
The editor took a look at the chain's job ads on the Chinese website, which says, "wages are strictly in line with Australian standard wages."
No wonder someone said such a thing after reading the news.
