This article was published by ABC News 7 Feb 2021
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Rally demands ‘fair go’
Protesters returned to Chinatown, carrying placards with slogans including “fair go” and “modern slavery”.
Organisers of the rally urged a broader community debate on systemic underpayment, saying they had received “thousands” of reports from migrant workers receiving less than the minimum wage.
“We need to try very hard to encourage them to really stand up to speak out [about] their victim experience, and also encourage them to take any actions,” said Say Leng Kapsis, who founded workers support group Fair Go SA.
“Wage theft is a crime.”
Ms Kapsis said many vulnerable victims were afraid of being blacklisted or blackmailed by unscrupulous employers.
“They could spread rumours against these wage theft victims,” she said.
‘We need better laws’
Labor spokeswoman Irene Pnevmatikos said there needed to be a more legislative solution.
“We’re continuing to look into the issue of wage theft,” she said.
“At the end of the day, it’s abundantly clear we need better laws, we need tougher regulations that will protect workers.”
uman Services Minister Michelle Lensink said existing mechanisms, including SafeWork SA and the Fair Work Commission, were empowered to handle wage theft allegations.
“All employers need to abide by laws that already exist in terms of wage theft,” she said.
“We have the independent regulators, and they have significant powers to manage these matters.
SafeWork SA is investigating the incident and the matter has been referred to the Fair Work Ombudsman.