‘Dodgy’ labour hire company hit with record fine over underpayment, mistreatment of workers

A labour hire company has been fined more than $600,000 over the underpayment and mistreatment of workers.

AL Star Express was found to have knowingly and repeatedly breached the Labour Hire Licensing Act by supplying workers to horticulture businesses around Melbourne, without holding a labour hire licence.

The international workers, some of whom spoke limited English, were paid as little as $17 an hour.

The fine is Australia’s largest ever penalty in labour hire licensing law.

The exploited workers were employed to pick fruit and vegetables — and work at an egg farm and a nursery – in regions around Melbourne including Rosebud, Koo Wee Rup, Torquay, and Devon Meadows.

‘Unconscionable’

Labour Hire Authority Commissioner Steve Dargavel said the  labour hire company had exploited workers who were vulnerable “by virtue of language [barriers] and visa [status]”. 

“It is unconscionable to pay vulnerable workers $17 an hour,” he said.

“Dodgy labour hire providers have no place in our industry and they will be held to account.

“Labour hire workers picking fruit and vegetables are among the most vulnerable workers and it’s really critical that companies employing them are appropriately vetted and licensed.

“This is not easy work, picking fruit and vegetables, this is hard work, it should be rewarded at least with the legal minimum, and certainly paying people only $17 an hour and exploiting them by their vulnerability is just outrageous.”

In its judgement, the Supreme Court of Victoria said the penalty needed to be “sufficiently high not to be the price of doing business”.

Mr Dargavel said that was the exact intention of Victoria’s labour hire laws.

“When the scheme was brought into being, it was … for the express purpose of ensuring dodgy labour hire providers don’t pay small penalties and get away with it as the price of doing business,” he said.

More prosecutions to come

Mr Dargavel said the Labour Hire Authority was pursuing action against other rogue labour hire providers.

“Unfortunately, there are individuals who want to exploit vulnerable people and want to make money doing it, and until those sorts of folks get the message that it’s not a business model that works we’ll see a series of these prosecutions,” he said. 

“Where a business is going to exploit vulnerable workers and do the wrong thing they need to be aware they’ll be held to account and there are really significant penalties for failing to do the right thing.

“It’s just not behaviour that belongs in this industry and should be stamped out.”