‘Virtual slave’ paid 47 cents an hour to work at 7-Eleven store

AFTER working 685 hours over two months, a 7-Eleven employee opened his paycheck to see he had only been paid $325.

7 eleven logoco

EVEN by the standards that have come to be associated with the 7-Eleven wage, this is incredible.

Pakistani student Ahmed must have thought a decimal point was missing when he got his pay packet from the convenience store chain. It worked out to be just 47 cents an hour.

That’s right — cents.

According to Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, the young man put in 685 hours over a two-month period, including weekends, and was paid just $325 for his efforts.

It’s the latest shocking detail to emerge in the wage scandal that sparked a Senate Inquiry, due to report at the end of this month, which has highlighted systemic exploitation of workers on temporary visas.

For Ahmed, it meant having to work almost eight hours just to afford a luxury we all take for granted: a $3.70 cup of coffee.

When he complained about his pay, his boss threatened to report him to authorities for working more hours than his visa allowed.

“He was blackmailing me — he says, ‘I have seen you working somewhere else and you are under my observation so don’t to be smart with me’,” Ahmed told AAP.

“He wanted me to keep working with him as a slave without being paid anything.”

Ahmed has since found a new job and hopes to receive at least $10,000 in back pay after Maurice Blackburn agreed to represent him pro bono.

Lawyer Giri Sivaraman said cases like Ahmed’s were only the tip of the iceberg.

“To date we’ve lodged nearly $1.4 million worth of claims,” Mr Sivaraman told the ABC.

“This is probably Australia’s greatest employment law scandals. Reports suggest that it may be anywhere from $25 million to $50 million that will be owed.”

Celebrating with @pranayalawala. Another client paid 47c/hr by 7eleven. Need to work a day to afford this coffee. pic.twitter.com/w1RVIYcmFX

— Giri Sivaraman (@GiriDSivaraman) February 15, 2016

The firm is representing 60 past and present 7-Eleven workers who are fighting for back pay from the convenience store chain, which has been struggling to clean up franchisees’ acts.

Back payments have started to roll in, with some receiving more than $90,000 and claims yet to be processed including amounts higher than $270,000.

Yet it emerged last month that a new “half pay scam” was in place at some stores, with workers being paid the correct amount only to be forced to hand half of it back to their boss.

Mr Sivaraman likened the “horrific” exploitation to that seen in third world countries.

“This should not be happening in Australia,” he said, calling for a mandatory employment education program for international workers.

“Without exception every one of our 7-Eleven clients have said they were unaware of their rights, how much they should be paid or how many hours they should work ... They also didn’t know who to turn to when they wanted to make a complaint. An education program could be a good start to preventing another national wage scandal the size of 7-Eleven.”

Pranay Alawala has won $33,000 in back pay.

IT student Pranay Alawala, who featured in a Four Corners expose of the wage scandal, celebrated with a coffee yesterday after winning $33,000 in back pay for his time working at 7-Eleven in Brisbane for between $12 and $15 an hour.

“I got what I was owed. If I was paid properly in the beginning I would not have had to go down this road,” Mr Alawala told Fairfax Media.

The union representing convenience store workers called on the federal government to act.

“We know the exploitation is ongoing. 7-Eleven workers continue to tell the SDA (Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association) that the cash back scam — which involves workers being forced to withdraw and pay back part of their pay — continues, but most of these workers are too scared to come forward publicly,” said SDA National Secretary Gerard Dwyer.

“The Prime Minister cannot continue to sit back and allow this exploitation to occur on his watch. He needs to come out publicly and assure workers that they will be granted a visa amnesty if they come forward.”

The Senate Inquiry into temporary work visas and worker rip-offs reports at the end of this month.

WHAT 47 CENTS AN HOUR BUYS

Coffee, $3.70 — 7 hours 52 minutes

Sandwich, $7.00 — 14 hours 53 minutes

Biscuit, $3.50 — 7 hours 26 minutes

2L Milk, $3.10 — 6 hours 35 minutes

Packet spaghetti, $2.45 — 5 hours 12 minutes

Beef Mince 1kg, $13.99 — 29 hours 45 minutes

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