Fair Work Ombudsman condemns “appalling” exploitation of migrant workers

One of Australia’s largest celery producers, which supplies Woolworths and Coles, deliberately paid no wages for extended periods to vulnerable migrant farmhands in Victoria.

Angelo, Dominic and Josephine Lamattina with the Sweet Crunch lettuce they supply to Woolworths.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth has condemned the “appalling” conduct of one of Australia’s largest celery producers, Lamattina, for deliberately paying no wages for extended periods to vulnerable migrant farmhands in Victoria.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed $166,860 in penalties against A&G Lamattina & Sons, which supplies celery to Coles and Woolworths from its Boneo farm on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, for underpaying the three migrant workers more than $91,000 in just one year.

Describing Lamattina’s conduct as “egregious”, Judge Karl Blake said despite raising concerns about their pay with the company, one of the farmhands was only paid for 10 of 52 weeks of work; another only six out of 36 weeks worked; and the third only eight out of 41 weeks worked.

“It is difficult to think of a contravention of an award that is more serious than a complete failure to pay employees their wages. That is what occurred in this case,” Judge Blake said. “The conduct was clearly deliberate and intentional.”

Ms Booth slammed the company’s treatment of the workers who were from non-English speaking backgrounds – they speak Indonesian and Malay – and held bridging visas when employed by Lamattina. They were employed as casuals to plant, pick, and cut celery between February 2020 and February 2021.

“The conduct by the employer in this case was appalling, and I believe supermarket shoppers would be dismayed to know their Lamattina celery was grown by workers deprived of such large sums of their hard-earned wages,” Ms Booth said.

“We don’t tolerate the exploitation of migrant workers, who have the same rights in Australia as any other workers.”

The three employees were underpaid $91,907 between them in the course of a year: one of them more than $37,000 and the other two more than $27,000 each.

Finding the company’s conduct to be “clearly deliberate and intentional”, Judge Blake said the farmhands had suffered significant financial losses and were “vulnerable employees seemingly exploited or taken advantage of by their employer”.

The judge noted the extended period of time over which the contraventions had occurred; the significant sums of the underpayments; Lamattina’s lack of remorse and the employer having taken no steps to prevent contraventions in the future, plus its lack of cooperation with the regulator.

Lamattina only rectified the underpayments in full in February 2023 – at least two years after the relevant work period.

During the court proceedings, counsel for Lamattina accepted the company “would have known that they’re required to pay wages” but offered no reason for its conduct.

“This is not a case where an employer misinterpreted or misapplied the industrial instruments in such a way that employees were paid but did not receive their full entitlements,” Judge Blake said.

“Rather, this is a case in which employees were not paid their entitlements for weeks at a time. The employees were also deprived of their entitlements for a significant period of time even after the applicant (the FWO) became involved on their behalf.

“All of these matters lead inexorably to the conclusion that the nature and extent of the losses faced by the employees in this case was significant. These were vulnerable employees seemingly exploited or taken advantage of by their employer. The respondent (Lamattina) offered no explanation for such conduct.”

Contacted by The Australian on Tuesday, Lamattina Group chief operating officer Dominic Lamattina refused to comment on the court judgment, Ms Booth’s criticism or why the workers were not paid.

The company’s private capital partner is Jadig Finance

According to an article on the Jadig FInance website, A&G Lamattina & Sons is an “iconic Australian family business” producing more than one million tonnes of vegetables every year from its Mornington Peninsula headquarters.

“Dominic has now occupied the group’s COO role for 16 years, where he leads all finances across logistics and sales to agronomy and field production,” the website says.

“Day to day, he manages the operations of the team’s staff of 200-plus as well as supports its core business as a long-established and major supplier to Coles and Woolworths, and to many cafes and restaurants throughout Victoria.”