Tue Sep 17 07:21:02 UTC 2024: ## Celery Farm Fined Over $150,000 for Deliberately Underpaying Migrant Workers
**Melbourne, Australia -** Australia’s largest celery producer, A & G Lamattina & Sons, has been fined over $150,000 for deliberately underpaying migrant workers. The Federal Court found that the farm on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, failed to pay employees minimum wage, casual loading, overtime, or public holiday pay between February 2020 and February 2021.
One worker was paid for only 10 weeks out of 52 weeks of work, while another received only eight weeks of pay for 41 weeks of work. Judge Karl Blake described the company’s conduct as “egregious” and “intentional,” highlighting that “it is difficult to think of a contravention of an award that is more serious than a complete failure to pay employees their wages.”
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth expressed shock and concern, stating, “Can you imagine working for a year and only being paid 10 weeks’ pay? To think that we’re going to the supermarket, buying our celery, paying a decent price for it, and that workers who are picking it, packing it, cutting it are just not being paid at all… [they] must have been so frightened.”
The court found that Lamattina breached the Fair Work Act and fined the company nearly $167,000. While the company rectified the underpayments in February 2023, the incident highlights the ongoing issue of worker exploitation, particularly within the agricultural sector.
Ms. Booth emphasizes the importance of upcoming changes to workplace laws that will make intentional underpayment of wages a criminal offense from January 1, 2024. She warned employers that deliberate attempts to underpay workers will face stricter consequences, including harsher penalties.
This case serves as a reminder of the vulnerability of migrant workers and the importance of ensuring fair treatment and compensation for all employees.
First Piper 