A fast food store in Melbourne’s CBD has been accused of systematically not paying international students employed while on ”trial”, in the latest claim of exploitation of foreign students.
Prateek Sahni, 23, has alleged a Subway manager did not pay him for more than 40 hours work at the fast food outlet in February and required him to do heavy labouring work for him at a property, also free. He is seeking penalties that could exceed $200,000.
The claim comes as the Fair Work Ombudsman has warned that young foreign students are vulnerable to exploitation and after a security guard at the 2008 Australian Open – who was also an international student – received more than $100,000 in penalties for under-payment.
Mr Sahni’s claims have been denied by Biltan Besim, the manager of the Subway outlet at 1-5 Elizabeth Street, who said he tried to contact the accountancy student to pay him but had incomplete details and no surname. He said that Mr Sahni never returned his employment and tax forms and had left his final shift early and ”disappeared”. Full story.
Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones.
