cheap labour

Crew aboard a ship at a BHP terminal in Queensland claim they are being starved and underpaid, in yet another instance of the coal giant’s veil of secrecy over its operations in Australian waters. A seafarer aboard an 80,000-tonne bulk carrier, the Villa Deste, contacted the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) pleading for help (email below). The starving crew claims to have no food and no onboard wages, and being fed on a $4 food budget per day.

BHP is continuing to block ITF’s requests to inspect the vessel, currently at anchor at BHP’s Hay Point Coal Terminal in Mackay, north Queensland, which is due to berth tomorrow.

“Seafarers are starving at BHP’s terminal in Queensland, and if BHP continues to deny the ITF access, ignoring these seafarers’ most basic rights to be fed and paid, then it is no better than the worst Flag of Convenience operators,” said ITF national coordinator Dean Summers.

“BHP told media today that the vessel was not chartered by the company, but it’s BHP coal being sold and loaded onto the Ville Deste. To now claim that they have no responsibility for the conditions onboard these vessel when they arrive at their port, to load their coal, demonstrates an extraordinary failure to uphold basic ethical standards in their global supply chain.

“ITF inspectors along with faith-based welfare providers have rights to access ships clearly defined in the international maritime security code and Australia's national security legislation. BHP claim to have a process for access, but continue to refuse our requests and question our legitimate right of entry,” he said.

The Liberian-flagged Villa Deste is owned by a Greek company Evalend Shipping Company S.A.. The ITF also inspected another vessel owned by the company, the Penelope L. on 3 July 2018 at the Port of Fremantle and found the same issues, employing seafarers on the lowest conditions possible and supplying decaying food to the crew.

The ITF has previously contacted the Department of Home Affairs about BHP’s denial of grant access for ITF inspectors to inspect ships at Hay Point. The Department has simply responded saying “approval to access a port facility is the responsibility of the port facility operator” dismissing the ITF’s concerns.

“By dismissing the ITF's concerns the Department of Home Affairs either unknowingly, or by design, has sided with BHP to even further isolate and abuse seafarers’ rights,” said Summers.

“While BHP ignores a rapidly deepening crisis at anchorage at their Hay Point terminal, and the Federal Government's security agencies deny unions rights to access foreign ships in Australian waters, the Greek shipowners go about their business of abusing human rights and denying these allegations in the name of bigger profits.

“The national security legislation clearly endorses our rights to access BHP’s terminal to protect and safeguard international seafarers after the Morrison Government, BHP, and their shady Greek employers have failed them so brutally.

“The plight of these seafarers, and the failure by BHP to take responsibility for their welfare, highlights why it is essential that ITF inspectors are provided access through BHP’s terminal. ITF needs to ensure the seafarers are fed, their wages are paid and appropriate human rights conditions are in place.

“We call on the Minister to immediately intervene in his Department's maladministration and facilitate our inspectors access to the Villa Deste to answer the seafarers’ urgent call for help,” said Summers.

CONTACT: Luke Menzies | [email protected] | +61 (0) 433 889 844

The last Australian seafarers to carry iron ore for BHP and BlueScope — work that was undertaken for more than a century — will return home tomorrow after completing their final voyage to Dandong, China. “Scott Morrison should front up to Sydney Airport, meet these workers, and tell them why his government has rubber-stamped BHP and BlueScope replacing them with exploited foreign seafarers who are paid as little as $2 an hour.” (MUA Secretary.)

The crew of the MV Lowlands Brilliance were in the Coral Sea last month when they were informed via email that BHP and Bluescope had decided to immediately axe the last remaining Australian bulk carriers that carried iron ore between Port Hedland and Port Kembla.

The Maritime Union of Australia said BHP and BlueScope had provided no warning to loyal crew members, and conducted no consultation, before deciding to bring an immediate end to 100 years of Australian seafarers carrying iron ore for BHP.

Six crew members of the MV Lowlands Brilliance will arrive at Sydney Airport tomorrow morning and will be available for interviews in the international arrivals area. They will be joined by MUA Assistant National Secretary Warren Smith, ALP Vice President Mich-Elle Myers, and NSW ALP Deputy Leader Penny Sharpe. The crew of the other Australian bulk carrier contracted by BHP and BlueScope, the MV Mariloula, returned to Australia last week.

MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin slammed the Morrison Government, accusing it of being directly responsible for the loss of these last iron ore vessels.

“Scott Morrison should front up to Sydney Airport, meet these workers, and tell them why his government has rubber-stamped BHP and BlueScope replacing them with exploited foreign seafarers who are paid as little as $2 an hour,” Mr Crumlin said.

“The Liberal National Coalition has spent the last five years in government actively undermining what is left of Australia’s shipping industry and now wants to make it even easier for multinational companies to replace Australian seafarers with exploited labour.

“BHP and Bluescope can’t use these exploited foreign seafarers to carry iron ore between Australian ports without a temporary license, and these can only be issued with the approval of the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, so the Federal Government has the final say as to whether these jobs stay or go.”

An example of the effect of the liberalisation of labor laws combined with massive increase in economic immigration in Australia. See more about how this came about in Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured almost $400,000 in penalties against a company and three individuals – including an HR manager – for systematically exploiting overseas workers at a Chinese restaurant in NSW and fabricating records to try to cover it up. The penalties have been imposed in the Federal Court after 85 employees at the New Shanghai Charlestown restaurant at Charlestown were underpaid a total of $583,688 over a 16-month period in 2013-2014. Justice Robert Bromwich has imposed a $54,672 penalty against the mastermind of the exploitation, restaurant owner Zhong Yuan “John” Chen, and penalised his company NSH North Pty Ltd a further $301,920. Justice Bromwich imposed a $18,496 penalty against restaurant manager Jin Xu for her involvement in the exploitation – and in addition, imposed a $21,760 penalty against the restaurant’s HR manager Ting “Sarah” Zhu, dismissing her argument that her culpability was greatly reduced because she had been following her boss’s orders.

The penalties are the result of an investigation and legal action by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Fair Work inspectors found that many workers at the restaurant – mostly visa holders from Asia – were paid as little as $10 an hour.

Under the Restaurant Industry Award at the time, most were entitled to be paid more than $20 an hour for ordinary hours and between $24 and $45 an hour for weekend, public holiday and overtime work. One employee was underpaid more than $33,000.

When the Fair Work Ombudsman began its investigation, NSH North provided fabricated records to inspectors that purported to show staff had been paid correctly.

The company later provided the true employment records, only after the issue was raised with them by the Fair Work Inspector and a further Notice to Produce issued, showing the unlawfully low, flat rates the employees were actually paid.

Justice Bromwich found that the contraventions involved “serious and premeditated conduct” and “encompassed a widespread, systematic and prolonged failure to accord employees their basic entitlements”.

NSH North has rectified more than $450,000 of the underpayments and is attempting to locate the employees who have not yet been back-paid. For any employees who cannot be located, the company will pay the amounts owing to the Commonwealth to be held in trust for the employees.

NSH North, Chen, Xu and Zhu all admitted in Court that they were involved in deliberately underpaying the workers and making use of fabricated records.

However, Zhu, whose duties included processing payroll and arranging staff wage payments, submitted that her culpability was reduced due to the fact she was at all times acting under the direction of Chen.

At the time of the underpayments, Zhu was being sponsored by a related company, NSH Restaurants Pty Ltd, on a 457 skilled worker visa and was being paid an annual salary of $100,000.
Justice Bromwich rejected Zhu’s submission, finding she had “acted in her own interests” in choosing to be a knowing participant in the underpayments and in taking an active role in the creation of false records.

“There is nothing wrong with sending the message that an employee should indeed resign if that is the only alternative to continuing to participate knowingly in illegal activity, ideally coupled with reporting the conduct, in a case such as this, to the FWO,” Justice Bromwich said.
Zhu argued in Court that her position as a 457 visa holder with familial and cultural pressures of loyalty to Chen made her vulnerable and should be a mitigating factor.
“In no sense was Ms Sarah Zhu a victim of the conduct. If this aspect of Ms Sarah Zhu’s circumstances is really mitigation at all, it cannot be given much weight. That is so both as a matter of public policy in requiring individuals to put compliance with the law ahead of their personal interests, and having regard to Ms Sarah Zhu’s knowledge that the law was being disobeyed for the entire period of over 16 months. Moreover, she took an active role in the attempt to thwart the FWO investigation,” Justice Bromwich said.
Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Kristen Hannah says the outcome of the matter sends a clear message that the Fair Work Ombudsman is committed to using accessorial liability laws to hold individuals involved in exploiting vulnerable workers to account.

“Rogue business owners and managers who think they can run operations based on exploitation of vulnerable workers and then try to hide behind corporate structures or flimsy excuses are playing with fire,” Ms Hannah said.

“We are committed to actively seeking them out, dismantling their unlawful business models, making sure the public are aware of the actions and ensuring they are penalised for their conduct. Business models based on exploitation of employees to gain an unfair commercial advantage are unacceptable.

“Where we find blatant exploitative conduct, we will do everything within our power to ensure that all accessories to that conduct are held to account.

“This includes taking action against not only business owners and directors – but also any HR practitioners, accountants, industrial relations specialists and any other professionals involved in knowingly facilitating exploitation of employees.

“HR managers and other specialists must explain the requirements to their clients, make it clear when they are in danger of breaking them and not become involved in breaches of the law themselves,” Ms Hannah said.
The Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act 2017 has now come into effect, increasing the maximum penalties for conduct including deliberate exploitation of workers and false records.

“The maximum penalties available for serious exploitative conduct that occurs today or in the future are now significantly higher than were available to be imposed in matters such as this one - and we will not hesitate to seek maximum penalties from the courts when it is in the public interest,” she said.

Employers and employees can visit https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance about their rights and obligations in the workplace.

Source of article: Fairwork Ombudsman, distributed by AAP.