Underpayment of wages is not a new phenomenon. However, the recent proliferation of what is being called wage theft is occurring across a range of occupations, labour market segments and business models.
Employers who underpay workers could be forced to name and shame themselves with public signs admitting their wage theft as part of industrial relations reforms Attorney-General Christian Porter is considering.
Businesses which fail to prevent wage underpayment could also be banned from hiring migrant workers for a period of time, and company directors disqualified from holding office.
Over the past 12 months, an embarrassing list of large corporations has been caught up in wage theft scandals. Dozens of Australian employers have admitted to shortchanging their workers.