$5.1 Million Fine for Blue Sky Kids Land After Hiding Worker Wage Theft

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It happened not too long ago but the story of Blue Sky Kids Land is a great example I can give of how far some companies will go to exploit workers and avoid accountability.

This is a children's clothing retailer, operating in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. This retailer store was fined over $5 million for underpaying four Chinese migrant workers over a period of almost three years.

The amounts involved in this case is very shocking. The underpayments went to a total of $131,920, with the individual workers underpaid between $14,744 and $45,140.

We've heard wage theft on so many occasions but what what makes this particular case a very alarming one is the deliberate steps the company took to hide their wrongdoing. According to the court handling the case, the company instructed staff to delete timesheets and even closed one of their stores to prevent Fair Work Inspectors from conducting a site visit.

The court found the company’s conduct to be deliberate and serious. Some of these breaches and acts happened despite previous warnings from Fair Work Inspectors dating all the way back to 2006. They were as stubborn as hell to keep finding smart ways to rip off their workers even though the inspectors were getting closer to finding out.

The exploitation had clearly persisted for nearly two decades and they put profits far above the rights and well being of their employees.

I've done a lot research into stories regarding wage theft but when I first learned about this particular case, I just had to think about the broader implications for workers everywhere else. I've written few articles about migrant workers being the most cheated with wages. The migrant workers, who usually have limited English skills or are unfamiliar with Australian labor laws are the most vulnerable.

Even when it's pretty obvious to them that they're getting ripped off, they may feel they cannot speak up, fearing they could lose their job or even face legal troubles themselves, you know how migrants are handled most of the times when it comes to unfair treatment at work.

I've already stated this in a previous article that this power imbalance allows companies like Blue Sky Kids Land to exploit them repeatedly knowing they are unlikely to be challenged.

Paying someone as little as $10 an hour, denying them some rights, casual loading, working overtime and even annual leave is not just unfair, it is morally wrong and it has to be stated as such. That's why I had to bring up in my title "theft" it is a form of theft, plain and simple.

This particular story, I see as a worse case scenario because, the very audacity to try and cover up these actions tells you how bad things have gotten.

Deleting timesheets and shutting down a store to block inspectors is not only illegal but shows a deep disrespect for the law and for human dignity, and why wouldn't it be so, they've got a lot of money so they are tempted to think they're above the law and can get away with such actions.

The sad question is how many other businesses operate in the shadows, taking advantage of the complexity of labor laws and the vulnerability of workers?

What we need is for these companies to understand that wage theft is not a victimless crime and deliberately obstructing investigations only compounds the seriousness of the offense.

The penalties that have been imposed in this case, includes a $4.3 million fine on Blue Sky Kids Land itself, a $760,000 for director Guo Dong Gu, a $43,000 for director Fei Rong Yang and a $44,100 for Q Fay Trading Pty Ltd which is another company run by the directors. A good compensation is well deserved I believe.

The bright side to this is that they would serve as a warning to other employers that, exploiting workers and trying to hide it will come at a heavier cost than just exploiting them.

The problem is that fines alone cannot fix the issues that allow such exploitation to continue. There must be stronger protections, better enforcement and most of all greater awareness among workers of their rights. That's even what motivated me to bring this story up in the first place.

The companies that fail to uphold fair labor practices should not even be able to continue operating with impunity like that.

It's very important for anyone that can to support movements like antiwork and broader labor advocacy. When companies routinely exploit workers and obstruct accountability, it validates the frustrations of those questioning the fairness of work in today's era.

I took the screenshot of the shop from the site below so not mine

Screenshot of the store from this website