Advance Copy Cite as: Laurie Berg and Bassina Farbenblum, ‘Remedies for Migrant Worker Exploitation in Australia: Lessons from the 7-Eleven Wage Repayment Program’ (2018) 41(3) Melbourne University Law Review (advance) REMEDIES FOR MIGRANT WORKER EXPLOITATION IN AUSTRALIA: LESSONS FROM THE 7-ELEVEN WAGE REPAYMENT PROGRAM L AURIE B ERG * AND B ASSINA F ARBENBLUM † Temporary migrants comprise approximately 11% of the Australian workforce and are sys- temically underpaid across a range of industries. e most vulnerable of these workers (in- cluding international students and backpackers) rarely successfully recover unpaid wages and entitlements. In 2015, media revealed systematic exploitation of 7-Eleven’s interna- tional student workforce, reflecting practices that have since been identified in other major Australian franchises. In an unprecedented response, 7-Eleven head office established a wage repayment program, which operated until February 2017. As of mid-2017, the pro- gram had determined claims worth over $150 million — by far the highest rectification of unpaid wages in Australian history. Drawing on interviews with international students and a range of stakeholders across Australia, this article uses 7-Eleven as a case study to illuminate systemic barriers that prevent temporary migrants from accessing remedies for unpaid entitlements within existing legal and institutional frameworks. We identify the unique attributes of the 7-Eleven wage repayment program that have contributed to its unusual accessibility and efficacy, and which may point to conditions needed to improve temporary migrants’ access to justice through state-based institutions and business-led re- dress processes. C ONTENTS I Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2 II A History of Fair Work Act Contraventions by 7-Eleven Franchises .................... 6 III 7-Eleven’s Establishment of Worker Remedial Mechanisms ...............................10 IV 7-Eleven Employees’ Historically Limited Access to Employment Remedies ...14 A Unions ..............................................................................................................15 B Courts ..............................................................................................................16 C e FWO .........................................................................................................17 1 Unpaid Entitlements Recovered by the FWO from 7-Eleven Franchisees ...............................................................20 * LLB, BA (Hons) (UNSW), LLM (NYU), PhD (Syd); Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney. † BSc, LLB (UNSW), LLM (NYU); Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW Sydney.
REMEDIES FOR MIGRANT WORKER EXPLOITATION IN AUSTRALIA: LESSONS FROM THE 7-ELEVEN WAGE REPAYMENT PRO GRAM
Aug 03, 2023
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