Online union to combat “wage theft” and harassment of hospitality workers

An online union, Hospo Voice, has been launched to tackle concerns about wage theft and worker exploitation.

The site focuses on the restaurant and bar sector which employs a high proportion of backpackers and migrant workers.

These sorts of conditions have made it difficult for unions to organise workers and deal with allegations of wage theft.

Hospo Voice has been created by the industry union, United Voice with the backing the ACTU. United Voice, has conducted a survey of 624 workers and estimates that 76 per cent of pubs and restaurants are underpaying staff.

Venues such as Bar Coluzzi in Sydney and Vue de Monde in Melbourne have been at the centre of these allegations.

The online union provides members with access to digital tools to check how much they should be getting paid. They also get a tracking tool to record and prove hours worked and a harassment diary to keep track of workplace bullying.

Ruby Lethbridge, a 19-year-old university student, who works casually as a waiter, barista and bartender in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs says her boss had told staff that half of the cost of any meals had been mistakenly put through the register and would be docked from their wages.

“It hasn’t gone down well with staff at all,” Lethbridge told Guardian Australia. “I’ve talked to lots of fellow staff members and we’re all aware that this is illegal.

“I and others I work with are getting dramatically underpaid about $9 under the award rate; we are paid in cash and are not given penalty or holiday rates. Previous staff have requested wage increases, which have never been granted, and the owners say they simply can’t afford to pay us any more, although they have recently opened a new restaurant and bought a new delivery car.”

She also said she had not been paid any superannuation for the past seven months.

Leon Getler 22nd May 2018.