The owners of a Southside Brisbane restaurant have been fined nearly $200,000 for deliberately exploiting vulnerable overseas workers through underpayments.
Mother and son Sakuraya cafe owners A-Hsueh Lai and Chang Ming Liu have also been forced to pay more than $54,000 in back-pay to five former staff from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.
The former visa-holders who worked at the Eight Mile Plains cafe were paid as little as $10 an hour, well below the legislated $18, and their underpayments ranged from $8300 to $18,000.
Comment has been sought from Ms Lai and Mr Liu, who were penalised $196,000 following legal action by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Judge Salvatore Vasta also instructed that costs of more than $12,000 be paid to the FWO towards the cost of flying witnesses from overseas to Brisbane for the court case.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the agency took action after the owners' refusal to rectify back payments and because Mr Liu had previously been apprised of his workplace obligations.
During the case, Ms Lai and Mr Liu said their employees never complained about being paid $10 an hour.
They also said they were "insulted" that, for the purposes of the award, their cafe was classified as a fast-food outlet rather than a restaurant.
Ms James said she was "increasingly concerned" about the number of visa-holders being underpaid by "culturally and linguistically diverse" business owners.
"While I understand there are cultural challenges and vastly different laws in other parts of the world, it is incumbent on all businesses operating in Australia to understand and apply Australian laws," she said.
"To that end, the Fair Work Ombudsman is here to help with free advice and resources in a range of languages.
"...Minimum wage rates apply to everyone in Australia – including visa-holders – and they are not negotiable."
Mother and son Sakuraya cafe owners A-Hsueh Lai and Chang Ming Liu have also been forced to pay more than $54,000 in back-pay to five former staff from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.
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Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says foreign workers are especially vulnerable to exploitation.
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Comment has been sought from Ms Lai and Mr Liu, who were penalised $196,000 following legal action by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Judge Salvatore Vasta also instructed that costs of more than $12,000 be paid to the FWO towards the cost of flying witnesses from overseas to Brisbane for the court case.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the agency took action after the owners' refusal to rectify back payments and because Mr Liu had previously been apprised of his workplace obligations.
During the case, Ms Lai and Mr Liu said their employees never complained about being paid $10 an hour.
They also said they were "insulted" that, for the purposes of the award, their cafe was classified as a fast-food outlet rather than a restaurant.
Ms James said she was "increasingly concerned" about the number of visa-holders being underpaid by "culturally and linguistically diverse" business owners.
"While I understand there are cultural challenges and vastly different laws in other parts of the world, it is incumbent on all businesses operating in Australia to understand and apply Australian laws," she said.
"To that end, the Fair Work Ombudsman is here to help with free advice and resources in a range of languages.
"...Minimum wage rates apply to everyone in Australia – including visa-holders – and they are not negotiable."
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