Latest news with #unpaidwages
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Federal Court judge throws out Police Union Victoria unpaid overtime claim
A Federal Court judge has thrown out a case brought by Victoria's police union that alleged frontline members were owed hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid overtime. The Police Association Victoria (TPAV) launched the proceedings against Victoria Police last year, demanding current and former officers receive six years' worth of unpaid wages related to time spent preparing for and finishing up their shifts. But on Thursday, Justice Shaun McElwaine rejected the claim and ordered the proceeding be dismissed. The union stated officers were expected to arrive 30 minutes before their rostered start time to perform various tasks, including preparing and checking equipment and doing paperwork, in what is known as "kit up" and "kit down" duties, which it stated equalled to up to five hours of overtime a week. In a statement, TPAV said while the court's decision was "disappointing", it was a "necessary fight" to have, with its campaign having already led to Victoria Police paying members for previously unpaid tasks. "Work tasks like kitting up and kitting down, administrative tasks and handovers which were performed for years by our members for free, on their time, are now performed within their shift time thanks to changes in the most recent EBA," a TPAV spokesperson said. "We believe that if the employer concedes that these tasks should be built into working shifts now and into the future, there should exist a liability for the past in which these tasks were performed outside of rostered hours." In February, Victoria Police members overwhelmingly backed a new pay deal that would see all staff receive an annual pay rise of 4.5 per cent. It followed a bitter and protracted pay dispute that forced the resignation of former top cop Shane Patton, following a vote of no-confidence by Victoria Police members.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
50 workers seek HK$600,000 in unpaid wages as another restaurant set to close in Hong Kong
'Due to lease expiration, we plan to close our business on August 1, 2025,' says notice posted at Star Seafood and Roasted Goose Restaurant's Chuk Yuen Plaza branch About 50 workers are chasing at least HK$600,000 (US$76,437) in unpaid wages as another Chinese restaurant prepares to shut down next month, amid a string of closures in the Hong Kong catering sector. A notice announcing the imminent closure was posted at Star Seafood and Roasted Goose Restaurant branch at Chuk Yuen Plaza in Wong Tai Sin. 'Due to lease expiration, we plan to close our business on August 1, 2025,' Star Seafood Restaurant Group said. The restaurant has five operating branches, including the one set to shut down. The branches are under Star Seafood Restaurant Group, which was established in 2000, and also operates other brands in Hong Kong, such as Star Seafood Restaurant, Golden Star Restaurant and Star Palace. Lawmaker Lam Chun-sing of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions said on Saturday the closure affected the restaurant's 40 to 50 employees. He said workers had complained that the restaurant only paid half of their wages for June, and that they had not received their salaries for this month. Newsletter Every Saturday Hong Kong Update By submitting, you consent to receiving marketing emails from SCMP. If you don't want these, tick here {{message}} Thanks for signing up for our newsletter! Please check your email to confirm your subscription. Follow us on Facebook to get our latest news. Some of the staff quit their jobs earlier in mid-July because of the delayed salary payment, while some would be transferred to other restaurant branches under the group, he said. Lam estimated that the overall amount of the unpaid wages involved reached at least HK$600,000. He added that about 10 workers had sought help from the Labour Department. 'We hope that the restaurant will pay the wages for July as well as the amount not paid for June according to the law,' he said. 'If there are vacancies in other branches, can they first recruit the affected employees?' Lam called on the workers who would be transferred to other restaurants to pay attention to the details of their new contracts, such as wages and the calculation of their service years, to protect their rights. He also urged the government to limit the number of imported workers in the catering industry to safeguard job opportunities for local workers amid the sector's high unemployment rate. The Labour Department said it had contacted the employer and reminded it to comply with the Employment Ordinance and the terms of contracts, adding that it would offer help to workers in need. Additionally, Jin Man Lou, an eatery in Prince Edward, will also close permanently after its last day on July 31. 'As the company's lease is about to expire, and the landlord's rent increase was too high, the company failed to reach a consensus with the landlord on the new rent arrangement. After careful consideration, the company has decided that Jin Man Lou's last operating day will be July 31, 2025,' a notice said. It remained uncertain how many of its workers would be affected. The closures occur as a string of businesses in the city's catering sector shut down permanently. Earlier this month, 36-year-old Super Star Seafood Restaurant abruptly shut down its last remaining branch and left about 50 employees in limbo as they sought to recover about HK$6 million in unpaid wages and dismissal compensation. Bakery chain Taipan Bread & Cakes, which invented 'snow skin' mooncakes, closed all of its branches after 41 years in business last month. In May, 33-year-old congee restaurant chain Ocean Empire Food Shop also shut all its outlets.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
No food, no pay, no freedom: marooned seafarers call out rogue shipowners
Twelve seafarers have been stranded in a tanker off the coast of Beira in Mozambique for 10 months, with limited supplies of food, water and power, after a UK-registered shipping company refused to let them leave. The Gas Falcon has three Pakistani and nine Indonesian seafarers on board. They have not been paid this year and are collectively owed more than $260,000 in missed salaries. 'The uncertain conditions, lack of supplies and non-payment of salaries have affected the crew's mental condition very badly,' the ship's captain, Muhammad Aslam, told The Observer. 'They are unable to sleep properly and are always thinking about what will happen and: 'When we will be able to get out of this forced prison?'' Cases of seafarer abandonment are rising. More than 2,280 seafarers have been stranded on 222 vessels this year, with unpaid wages totalling $13.1m – a 30% year-on-year increase, according to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which supports abandoned crews. Many ships are registered in countries with lax enforcement and owned by shell companies that obscure responsibility. In an industry driven by cost-cutting and aggressive competition, some shipowners walk away when faced with financial trouble, leaving crews unpaid and stranded without food, water or legal recourse. The fragmented nature of maritime law, which varies in each country, combined with limited accountability across jurisdictions, can drive exploitation. The Gas Falcon's registered owner is Gator Shipping Alfa, whose holding company is Gator Shipping Limited, a private limited company registered in Torquay, Devon. The ITF's Steve Trowsdale said the seafarers 'have been abandoned by a company that clearly has no intention of meeting its legal or moral obligations'. Gator Shipping did not respond to this allegation. 'We are very concerned to hear about the plight of these seafarers,' said Sapna Malik, partner and co-head of the international department at the law firm Leigh Day. 'It may be possible to seek legal recourse in the English courts against Gator Shipping for allegedly breaching its duties to the seafarers, potentially engaging the Modern Slavery Act.' 'You do not care how much the ship's crew is suffering aboard your vessel. Now we have run out of supplies and, despite my repeated requests, you are unable to arrange it' The Gas Falcon had been carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The crew was told by Gator Shipping that salaries would be paid after the cargo was discharged. Instead, it sent the vessel to an anchorage farther out to sea. The seafarers are not allowed to disembark because they do not have visas for Mozambique. The crew has sent repeated emails to Federico Careri – the majority owner of the company, according to company records – pleading for sufficient supplies of food and water. Careri has periodically paid for provisions to be provided to the vessel by port staff in Mozambique. 'You do not care how much the ship's crew is suffering aboard your vessel,' states a 14 July email sent to Careri by Aslam and viewed by The Observer. 'Now we have run out of supplies and, despite my repeated requests, you are unable to arrange it.' In a statement to The Observer, Careri denied being the owner of the Gas Falcon, describing himself as the commercial manager. The Observer has reviewed documents that confirm he is the owner. He did not respond to follow-up questions on this. In the statement, he said: 'We have consistently taken steps to ensure the vessel has sufficient food and water, although delivering bunker provisions and fresh water in Beira presents significant logistical challenges and may have caused occasional delays.' 'We are not getting paid, and not being released or allowed to disembark and work for some other shipping company,' said Aslam, 51, from Lahore, Pakistan. His family back home is running out of money and has taken out loans to make ends meet because he is not being paid. All of t he crew are under pressure to support families, who have been left in a state of despair and poverty, Aslam added . The seafarers have requested permission from the shipowner to disembark three times since December, according to documents seen by The Observer. Gator Shipping has not acted on these pleas.'The company is beyond reason. Mainly they do not bother to reply, and even if they reply it is: 'We are working on it' or simply: 'Noted',' said Aslam. Careri, through Gator Shipping and another of his entities, Kharta Shipping, has been involved in three crew abandonments since May 2024, says the ITF. Last year, another cohort of crew on the Gas Falcon was abandoned off the coast of Mogadishu with 19 seafarers on board. At that time, the ship had insurance with the West of England Shipowners Mutual Insurance Association, which paid the crew's salaries. The Gas Falcon is uninsured, according to the ITF and the crew, after the West of England terminated coverage following that incident. In November 2024, another vessel, the Gas Parrot, was abandoned for about three months with 10 seafarers onboard while under the ownership of Careri's Kharta Shipping. The crew was eventually repatriated in January this year after intervention by the ITF and India's National Union of Seafarers. That vessel was also uninsured, and the crew had only limited food, water and fuel during the ordeal. The Gas Parrot's crew still has not been paid their full salaries, according to the crew and the International Labour Organization, which documents ship abandonments. 'The owner has no mercy in his heart,' said Rey Lorenzo Saraan, the Gas Parrot's second officer at the time. The Gas Falcon is registered under the flag of Gabon, despite having no connection with the West African nation. Most abandoned vessels sail under similar 'flags of convenience', according to the ITF. This system allows shipowners to register vessels in countries with weaker labour protections and oversight, making it harder to hold them legally accountable. This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center's Ocean Reporting Network Photograph by Airbus DS/Earth Genome
Independent Singapore
17-07-2025
- Independent Singapore
Poly student says she was fired from internship without warning and wasn't paid for a week of work
SINGAPORE: A polytechnic student is seeking help online after she was suddenly fired from her internship without any warning or pay. Sharing her dilemma on Reddit's 'SGexams' forum on Sunday (Jul 13), the Year 3 student shared that she had been interning at a local company for about a week when she was suddenly removed from 'all group chats with no notice.' 'I had worked there for about a week, putting in full hours every day,' she said. 'During that week, the boss made us do OT every day and often arrived late, making us wait around 30 minutes each morning before we could even start.' Concerned about the working conditions, she approached her school lecturer for advice. However, he allegedly dismissed her concerns and told her to just grow up,' saying that this was just 'part of the working life.' Shortly after that conversation, the student found herself cut off from all work communication without any explanation. She said she had tried messaging her supervisor about her pay but has not received any response for more than three weeks. She also mentioned that another intern who was not fired had already been paid, although he had to follow up multiple times to receive it. When she raised the issue of her unpaid wages with her lecturer, he reportedly responded, 'Anyway, the money is a week of work so can't be more than 100 dollars right? So why is it so urgent for you? Have some empathy.' 'I feel like it's my right to ask for pay for the days I put in?' she continued. 'Why is he [my lecturer] downplaying it? It's not even about the money anymore, it's about the principle of the situation, and if it is only S$100, why is it so hard to pay me?' She added that she had asked her lecturer for a copy of her internship contract, as she was considering filing a claim with the Small Claims Tribunal. Unfortunately, he refused to provide it and scolded her for pursuing the matter, suggesting she was making too big a deal out of the situation. 'He refused to send it to me, so I'm not sure how my claim would hold up despite having pictures and videos of me working,' she said. 'And he berated me again for asking for it, claiming that basically I'm 'doing too much'—not exact words but basically the idea—and that I should just allow what happened to me to just happen.' She ended her post by asking if there were any official channels to report the incident or steps she could take to escalate the matter further. 'I'm refusing to keep quiet about this,' she wrote. 'I feel really lost and frustrated. I know it was just one week, but I did the work, and it feels so wrong to not get paid or even get a proper explanation.' 'Your lecturer is so out of touch with the world.' In the comments, many Singaporean Reddit users criticised the lecturer for brushing off the student's concerns. 'Your lecturer handled the internship situation in the worst possible way,' one comment read. 'From what you've shared, he offered no real support as any responsible lecturer should and instead appeared to have sided with the company. Telling you to 'just suck it up' or saying it's 'just 100 dollars' and that you should show more empathy to the company shows a complete lack of empathy on his part.' 'What part of normal working life involves getting fired with no notice or explanation at all? LOL, your lecturer is tripping,' another commented. 'Your lecturer is so out of touch with the world or just super jaded by it,' a third said. 'The lecturer smells fishy,' a fourth remarked. See also Overdraft facility is useful for business growth and expansion Meanwhile, other users chimed in to give the student some advice. One suggested that the student try escalating the matter to the head of the school department. Another recommended, 'Go straight to your course manager, and if that still does not work, escalate to the director of your school. Try to resolve it at school level first. I don't think the school will be this uncaring of their students; it does sound like it is a problem with that lecturer.' What can you do if your employer doesn't pay you? According to Gloria James-Civetta & Co (GJC Law), if contacting your employer about unpaid wages doesn't resolve the issue, you can escalate the matter by submitting a formal complaint to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). MOM may step in to mediate and advise both parties. If the matter still remains unresolved after MOM's involvement, the next course of action is to file a claim with the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT), which handles salary-related disputes and wrongful dismissal disputes between employers and employees. Read also: 'All MCQs with answers given?' Employee doubts manager's degree and credibility, says he was promoted unfairly Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside the crash of Mr Potato empire - as staff reveal the chaos that saw workers rely on UBER EATS for vital ingredients
A teenage worker left jobless by the failed Mr Potato fast food chain has described the chaotic months leading up to her store's closure and the business's total collapse. Maggie - not her real name - worked for Mr Potato at Newtown in Sydney 's inner-west from last year until the store finally closed its doors in late June. She watched on as basic ingredients for popular menu items had to be bought from Woolworths via Uber Eats because the usual suppliers had not been paid. Mr Potato had also stopped paying for its garbage to be collected and rubbish piled up outside the shop, while employees such as Maggie are still owed wages. When Maggie took a job at the Newtown store 'it was pretty normal for most of the time' but she soon realised there were 'issues paying people'. One manager left, and the operation began falling apart when its founders, Miss Universe entrant Jess Davis and her basketballer husband Tyson Hoffman, took over running the store. 'It just became clear that they didn't really know what they were doing,' Maggie said. Before the closed sign went up at the King Street premises - Mr Potato's only outlet in Sydney - Davis and Hoffman went on a marathon food truck tour around Australia. Franchisees were left facing bankruptcy when Mr Potato went into liquidation on July 4 after the Australian Tax Office brought wind-up action over a $150,000 debt. Phil Robinson of Deloitte was appointed as the Adelaide-based company's liquidator during a deliberation which took less than two minutes to be heard. Davis and Hoffman - also known as Tyson Finau - established Mr Potato in 2018 to capitalise on what they saw as a gap in the market for healthy fast food with a 'modern spin' on baked potatoes. Hoffman, who had played for the 36ers NBL team, suggested the idea of selling spuds loaded with savoury toppings to his then-fiancée as 'a joke' a few weeks after they began dating. Mr Potato grew from the first Adelaide store to other locations in South Australia before expanding into Queensland, with plans in 2022 to open 20 more restaurants across the nation. The Newtown store opened in April 2023 but there were clear signs the Mr Potato business was in big trouble later that year. By October 2023, Gold Coast franchises at Palm Beach, Upper Coomera and Mermaid Waters had gone bust and were taken over by head office in Adelaide. The number of franchises had fallen from 13 to just four by June this year, as Davis and Hoffman spent much of their time on their national tour promoting the brand. Davis sparked controversy earlier this year when she posted on Instagram her intention to seek investors for a $4million tropical resort. She and Hoffman acquired a 100-hectare slice of beachfront land on the Tongan island of Nomuka where they planned to build an 'eco resort', dubbed Oseni. According to the couple's Instagram, their plans for the resort included '30 private, luxurious and eco-friendly villas' on the remote beach. The couple also intended to build a seaplane wharf to help ferry guests from mainland Tonga to the island getaway. At the Newtown store, Maggie said the first time she was paid late was in November last year but only by a day so she wasn't particularly worried. When a shift leader resigned, she was left to open the restaurant on her own despite having never been trained to do so. Davis and Hoffman were acting as the store managers from December until late January and commenced their Mr Potato road trip in March. 'It became clear that they must have been struggling with the financial side of things,' Maggie said. 'We would start getting different suppliers than usual and we would start getting more and more emergency deliveries on most stocks. 'And then they decided that the best option to deal with all of this was to start a food truck.' In February, Davis and Hoffman threw a lavish Christmas party for their staff, hiring a yacht for a fully-catered cruise on Sydney Harbour, followed by Uber rides to karaoke. 'We were all kind of like, "What? How are you doing this? How are you paying for this?"' said Maggie. Daily Mail Australia has seen staff WhatsApp group messages from about March in which staff noted ingredients were being ordered from Woolworths every day and the 'run out list is getting longer'. One list of products not in stock featured two types of cheese, bacon, chipotle, mayonnaise, beans, jalapeno, beetroot, roasted peppers, vegan butter, lentils, hummus and tomato sauce. Maggie's pay was by then coming a couple of days late but other employees - international students - were waiting longer. 'They were still on tour,' Maggie said of Davis and Hoffman. 'And it quickly went downhill because they weren't contactable as much. 'Eventually we kept getting banned from our suppliers for not paying them. So we had to get the majority of our stock from Coles and Woolworths on Uber Eats. 'We kept getting into trouble with the council because we had the bins out the back, but they weren't paying for the bins to be picked up.' Easter brought more pay delays, including for lucrative public holidays. Maggie complained to Hoffman in a WhatsApp group chat in which she wrote: 'It's just disrespectful. A fortnight late? Come on.' Hoffman responded with an 'insane' message Maggie found 'a little bit threatening'. 'Obviously it's a tough time financially for us,' he wrote. 'Options are either we close the store and no one even has a job, any income or we find the solutions to keep things going. 'Anyone that thinks we have an immediate solution, is unfortunately incorrect. I do have solutions to make this never happen again. But they take time. This social media user and baked potato fan was unimpressed by the offerings at Mr Potato 'We have large funds landing any day now so we can ensure this doesn't happen again. 'We will remember who's on our team and who's not.' That pay problem was resolved but wages were late again in May and Maggie had had enough. Word began spreading the ATO was circling Mr Potato but Davis and Hoffman said nothing to staff. On June 26, Hoffman said in another group WhatsApp message the store would be closing 'for a few days', from that Friday to Sunday. 'We're currently waiting on some funds that are due to land on Monday,' Hoffman wrote. 'Once received, we'll be able to fully restock the store and resume normal trade from Tuesday. Apologies for the recent sporadic ordering and stock levels. 'In the meantime, please enjoy a well-deserved short break. Pays will be processed and in your accounts tomorrow.' On July 1, after repeated requests from staff for their pay, Hoffman responded on WhatsApp. 'At this stage, we won't be reopening the store,' he wrote. 'We know how hard this is to hear, and it's incredibly difficult for us to say. 'Jess and I have poured absolutely everything we have into Mr Potato - our time, our energy, our hearts. 'We've fought so hard to keep things going, and while we don't plan to give up, the reality is we're in a very tough spot right now. ' Hoffman revealed 'all of our other sites have either stopped trading or are still open but no longer paying us'. 'We're still exploring options, but we feel it's only fair to be transparent and not leave you all waiting in limbo,' he wrote. 'As painful as it is to say, we encourage you to look for other employment. 'In regards to wages and super, we're doing absolutely everything in our power to make sure everyone is paid. We don't have a clear timeline, but we promise to update you the moment we have more information. 'We're truly sorry. Thank you for everything you've given to Mr Potato - it's meant the world to us.' Maggie has heard nothing more from Hoffman since then and remains owed about $1,100 in wages. She said some of her ten or so workmates - as young as 15 - are owed much more. In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Hoffman previously insisted: 'Each store is responsible for its own financial obligations to suppliers.' 'At Mr Potato, we remain committed to transparency, franchisee success, and the strength of our brand. 'Business performance varies due to multiple factors, and we encourage all franchisees to conduct thorough due diligence before making financial commitments. 'We care deeply about our franchisees and want them to succeed. We provide support not only in business but also in navigating the various challenges that life presents. 'Like any business, the success of a franchise ultimately depends on the business management, effort, and execution of the individual franchisee.'
