International students working at convenience stores of 7-Eleven are forced to pay back a substantial part of their wages in cash, a covert video recorded by ABC shows.
According to the , a worker at a Brisbane 7-Eleven store was filmed on a hidden camera handing over nearly half of her salary to the store owner in cash.
The international student whose identity is withheld is paid $25 an hour. However, she is forced to return $11 out of 25 she earns. She says all the employees are forced to this as this is the only way students like her can secure a job.
“The government pay is $25 per hour for casual staff. What I get is $14 per hour. I take the cash out of the ATM, and hand it back."
“"[The franchisees] say agree to paying back the money. If not, you can go find another job. Everyone at the shop has to do it," she said.
"My bosses say they can't afford to pay the government rate. That's why they ask us to give some of the money back, she added.
The video footage shows the worker handing over $50 notes to a man.
reported that the worker handed over $150 to her manager at the store. She said she had paid back nearly $6000 since the beginning of this year.
ABC reports that 7-Eleven has launched an internal investigation into the Brisbane store incident.
“7-Eleven takes any allegation of illegal activity in our Franchisee network extremely seriously, and we will be appalled if they're proven,” the company said in a statement.
Earlier, an investigation by 4-Corners had exposed a widespread exploitation of 7-Eleven workers at the hands of the company franchisees.
You may also like to read
7Eleven: Former Indian-origin worker claims deliberate delay in compensation
