Union gets results for `underpaid’ Chinese workers: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 07 Jan 2008: 2.
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Abstract
Jantom could not be contacted yesterday. CFMEU NSW secretary Andrew Ferguson said a meeting had been set for today with Parkview, who are believed to have contracted Jantom.
The hotel is advertised on construction company Parkview’s website as the “Peppers City Beach” resort and boasts panoramic views and landscaped gardens. Stella Hospitality Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of MFS Limited, listed on the Australian stock exchange as a Top 200 investment company with more than $5 billion in assets.
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A CAMPAIGN by the construction union has yielded immediate results after it took up the case of 40 Chinese workers building a swish hotel overlooking Wollongong’s central beach.
The Chinese workers, who speak little English, spent a dismal Christmas after the plastering company Jantom allegedly underpaid them by $216,000.
The Workplace Ombudsman announced an inquiry into the case within hours of the men’s plight being exposed in The Weekend Australian.
Industrial action planned by the union for today to disrupt operations at existing Peppers luxury resorts has been postponed pending the results of meetings during the week.
The alleged ill treatment of the Chinese men is made starker by the luxurious nature of the hotel, which is to be managed by the Stella Hospitality Group, owners of the upmarket resort chains Peppers, Mantra and Breakfree.
The hotel is advertised on construction company Parkview’s website as the “Peppers City Beach” resort and boasts panoramic views and landscaped gardens. Stella Hospitality Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of MFS Limited, listed on the Australian stock exchange as a Top 200 investment company with more than $5 billion in assets.
Many of the 40 Chinese men kept on working in the mistaken belief they would be paid before Christmas.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has seized on the case as a classic example of the way pay, conditions and respect for working people were eroded during the years of the Howard government.
Workplace Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said there would be an immediate investigation.
“It is utterly unfair and unlawful not to pay a worker for their labour. We will immediately investigate this matter, recover the workers’ wages and entitlements and if appropriate prosecute their employer for breaches of workplace law,” Mr Wilson said.
Jantom could not be contacted yesterday. CFMEU NSW secretary Andrew Ferguson said a meeting had been set for today with Parkview, who are believed to have contracted Jantom.