{"id":275412,"date":"2020-09-09T15:19:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T05:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=275412"},"modified":"2020-09-09T15:19:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T05:19:00","slug":"wage-theft-now-a-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/09\/09\/wage-theft-now-a-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Wage Theft Now A Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 9, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Employers found to be deliberately stealing from their workers will now face jail under new laws passed in State Parliament on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWage theft affects one in four Queensland workers,\u201d Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it takes $2.2 billion dollars out of Queensland workers\u2019 pockets each year in unpaid wages and superannuation.”<\/p>\n

Ms Grace said under the new laws, the maximum penalty for stealing by an employer will be the same as the current maximum penalty for “stealing as a clerk or servant”, ie. 10 years\u2019 jail.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese new laws recognise that the current framework is not doing the job; something needs to change to stop rampant wage theft,\u201d Minister Grace said.<\/p>\n

\u201cStronger penalty and deterrence measures are needed for those who commit wage theft, particularly where it is deliberate and systematic and part of an employer\u2019s business model.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new laws follow a 2018\u00a0inquiry which found that wage theft was widespread in Queensland, affecting about 437,000 workers – approximately one in five – each year and costing more than $1 billion a year in unpaid or underpaid wages.<\/p>\n

As well, it heard the annual loss associated with the underpayment or non-payment of superannuation was estimated at $1.12 billion.<\/p>\n