High fees, low pay: International students 'shocked' by Australian working conditions

Quote:

When news broke last year of systemic exploitation at 7-Eleven, Australians were shocked, but for many international students the wages were not so surprising. Underpayment is not limited to the multinational company — students working in hospitality, retail and cleaning told Story Hunters it was an accepted part of life in Australia. Former international student Kenny said he worked his way through his degree at a popular Chinese restaurant for $8 an hour. "Most Australians would find that shocking — that's not much money at all," he said. International students can legally work 20 hours a week during the semester, but many say the low pay means they have to work more just to get by. "We know that it's illegal — if the Government finds out we'd be kicked out. We know the employer is doing the wrong thing … we can't complain. Too many students are looking for work," he said. Kenny, from China, said working for $8 to $12 an hour was common amongst his peers, particularly those from Asian countries, but he said in his experience Vietnamese students were particularly susceptible to exploitation in the workplace. Story Hunters joined two Facebook groups of 41,000 students from Vietnam and asked them: what is it like working part-time while studying in Australia? Around 60 students commented, emailed or messaged with their stories within three days, and more than 500 people responded to two polls, with two-thirds saying they were paid under the minimum wage. Four students — Chi, Daniel, Vincent and Darren — agreed to speak to us in person, under varying conditions of anonymity. Vietnamese students turn to ex-pat community Arriving in Australia can be a daunting and lonely experience for an international student. For many Vietnamese students, it is their first time away from home and Australian English is vastly different to the American pronunciation that they learnt at school. "I could not even order KFC when I first came here, because they couldn't understand me and I couldn't understand them either," Darren said. Darren said the experience rocked his confidence and, in need of work, he turned to the established Vietnamese community, who offered him a job waiting tables for $12 an hour. "I thought that when people speak Vietnamese with each other, they would treat me way better — but the opposite turned out to be true," he said. "When I speak Vietnamese they just abuse me because they think that I don't have the ability to talk English to communicate with others and tell my story." Vincent said business owners assumed students like him would accept below-award wages because the average rate of pay in Vietnam was so much lower. "They say 'you should be happy, because in your country think of how much you can earn, and now how much do we pay you'," Vincent said. Even as the students were discussing their frustration with the system, employers were advertising positions for as little as $10 to them on the same Facebook group. "Most of us when we work for mostly Vietnamese-Australian owners … it's very rare for us to get the $12 an hour if we don't have any experience, mostly it's about $8 - $10," Chi said. "Those very first days in my work, I felt like when I came back from work I didn't want to talk to anyone, I just wanted to lay on my bed and cry alone, because I didn't expect that. It's really terrible." When we met Chi she was working at a bakery for $8 an hour. It was her first job since arriving here four months ago. The way she was treated by the Vietnamese owner shocked her. She said she was expected to come in with no notice, worked 12-hour shifts without meal breaks and was regularly abused by management. "In Vietnam my parents own a fashion shop and they do hire people but never in my life have I seen them yell at their employees," she said. "Never in my life have I seen this kind of thing happen. "I can't say that every Vietnamese boss in Australia is like that, but it's not just me, it's not just my boss. Many Vietnamese students have experiences like this." Daniel said his first job in Australia at a Thai restaurant paid just $9 an hour. "It was my first job and I don't know how to report him, and other workers with me were paid $9 so I thought it was normal," he said. "I don't want to go to any Vietnamese restaurant in Australia to eat anymore because I'm afraid that behind that bowl of food there's a scene of the employer exploiting another Vietnamese student," Chi said.

(continued)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/7585926-3x4-340x453.jpg

Quote:

Youth, language barriers, loyalty and fear When 7-Eleven was sprung for dodgy practices, it was a clear case of a multi-million-dollar business being greedy. The Fair Work Ombudsman took them to court, they were forced to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages and are now reviewing their practices. But for international students working in small businesses across the country, justice is hard to come by. Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the body only received "a couple of hundred complaints" from international students each year. "That doesn't to me suggest the full story, particularly when you consider there are 430,000 international students in the country," she said. Ms James said there were four key factors which made international students vulnerable to exploitation: youth, language barriers, loyalty to their employers, and concerns about losing their visas. These factors came up again and again when speaking to international students. Students told us stories of being yelled at, belittled and breaking down in tears after a long day's work, but recoiled at the idea of going to the authorities. "If I talked to the Fair Work Ombudsman — I know that they will help us, but if I tell them the business will get [fined]," Vincent said. "My restaurant has 18 people, it will change the life of the boss, the business will close. The first thing — the worker will lose the job. "If I tell them, the whole Vietnamese community is affected, not only me." "If the Government forces the employers to raise wages to the minimum level, then those owners will fire us, because they cannot afford it," Chi said. "The reason why the owner is paying $8 or $10 an hour is because of the relationship of supply and demand … if I don't work, other people will." Finding a solution Some students suggested lowering the minimum wage for international students as a way to encourage employers to put staff on the books. It is a controversial idea even amongst the students, with ramifications for local workers competing in the job market, not to mention on Australian ideals of equality. "If [we] are allowed to work in Australia, then we should be treated fairly," Chi said. There have also been calls for the Fair Work Ombudsman to conduct more random checks on small hospitality businesses known to hire international students. Ms James pointed out the fundamental flaw in this suggestion. "We need people to talk to us. If people can't tell us 'these are the hours I've worked, and this is what I got paid and it's not enough', then it's very difficult for us to recover under-payments for them," she said. "If the employers' records aren't right, if they're being so deliberately exploitative that they're paying $8-10 an hour then they're probably not keeping accurate records of that, so simply looking at the books is not going to fix the problem, that's actually not going to tell us what's going on. We need to talk to people." Vincent called on Vietnamese-Australian community leaders to address the situation and call out those business owners doing the wrong thing. While they may not yet be leaders, a number of students are putting this idea into practice, starting a Facebook group where students can report dodgy employers. "The new students when they come to Australia — they'll know not to go there and also we also want the customer to not go to the restaurant that treat people badly," Chi said. If you think you are being exploited at work you can contact the Fair Work ombudsman on 13 13 94. The ombudsman advises students to keep a record of the hours they work and their payslips to help with investigating illegal practices. If you are assisting the ombudsman with an investigation they can contact the Department of Immigration to ensure your visa is not at risk.

Point 1. Nobody held a gun to their head and said come to Oz

Point 2. Are they paying the true full cost of their education & stay here or is there some amount of transfer payment from us to them. If so this could be considered payback.

bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:12pm:

Point 1. Nobody held a gun to their head and said come to Oz Point 2. Are they paying the true full cost of their education & stay here or is there some amount of transfer payment from us to them. If so this could be considered payback.

Dickhead.

Are you propositioning me?

bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:12pm:

Point 1. Nobody held a gun to their head and said come to Oz Point 2. Are they paying the true full cost of their education & stay here or is there some amount of transfer payment from us to them. If so this could be considered payback.

The studentd are just availing themselves of the opportunities offered to them.  It is the education industry that is using the country like their personal toilet - 430000 international students is all well and good for the institutions, but what about the rest of society, who have to bear the burden?  I doubt its much comfort for our youth who cant find a job to hear that educational institutions are making a mint off their misery.

bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:12pm:

Point 1. Nobody held a gun to their head and said come to Oz Point 2. Are they paying the true full cost of their education & stay here or is there some amount of transfer payment from us to them. If so this could be considered payback.

Typical rightard: Blame the victim while staying silent about the employers who are doing the exploiting.

Quote:

"If the employers' records aren't right, if they're being so deliberately exploitative that they're paying $8-10 an hour then they're probably not keeping accurate records of that, so simply looking at the books is not going to fix the problem, that's actually not going to tell us what's going on. We need to talk to people."

Simple solution - if an employer isn't keeping proper staff records, fine them heavily. The current penalties are clearly not a deterrent. Something in the order of $25,000 per day should be sufficient.

the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned.

is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour.

well, it is just the market at work.

market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established.

if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established.

there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices.

the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality"

7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner.

we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms.
neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour.

bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:20pm:

Are you propositioning me?

I'm describing you, perfectly.

aquascoot wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:51pm:

the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned. is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour. well, it is just the market at work. market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established. if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established. there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices. the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality" 7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner. we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms. neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour.

Mr Ed continues to condone illegal conduct.

so what happens to the TAX these workers pay?????.....

cant believe the tax man gets it??....the immigration dept usually visits these restaurants looking for illegal workers.. so why isnt the TAX dept also visiting them????

seems to me doing something illegal also includes tax avoidance.

Nothing surprising here. As well as these legitimate students being exploited by their fellow countrymen as cheap labour, there are the ones who sign up in good faith to attend an Australian "college" that is nothing more than a post office box that provides minimal to no training and is a front for dodgy businesses like brothels or for other criminal activity. 

Governments of both sides, in their rush to sell Australia as a destination for Asian and other foreign students to get an education, have allowed these   dodgy "schools"  to flourish.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:55pm:

aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:51pm: the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned. is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour. well, it is just the market at work. market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established. if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established. there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices. the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality" 7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner. we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms. neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour. Mr Ed continues to condone illegal conduct.

i condone people who would be getting $2 a day in bangladesh being paid $100 for a 10 hour shift which must make them feel like they are in the land of milk and honey.
they probably fall to the ground , crying tears of joy, when they get their first pay cheque

aquascoot wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 3:06pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:55pm: aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:51pm: the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned. is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour. well, it is just the market at work. market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established. if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established. there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices. the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality" 7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner. we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms. neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour. Mr Ed continues to condone illegal conduct. i condone people who would be getting $2 a day in bangladesh being paid $100 for a 10 hour shift which must make them feel like they are in the land of milk and honey. they probably fall to the ground , crying tears of joy, when they get their first pay cheque

This isn't Bangladesh - it's Australia.

We have laws.

You're condoning illegal conduct.

You're part of the problem.

Bam wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:31pm:

bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:12pm: Point 1. Nobody held a gun to their head and said come to Oz Point 2. Are they paying the true full cost of their education & stay here or is there some amount of transfer payment from us to them. If so this could be considered payback. Typical rightard: Blame the victim while staying silent about the employers who are doing the exploiting.

Typical leftard. Don't address the issues I raised just as you run away from any discussion in which you can't handle the issues.

bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 3:55pm:

Bam wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:31pm: bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:12pm: Point 1. Nobody held a gun to their head and said come to Oz Point 2. Are they paying the true full cost of their education & stay here or is there some amount of transfer payment from us to them. If so this could be considered payback. Typical rightard: Blame the victim while staying silent about the employers who are doing the exploiting. Typical leftard. Don't address the issues I raised just as you run away from any discussion in which you can't handle the issues.

I AM handling the issues - criminal employers who exploit workers by underpaying them. You are not. You have refused to discuss the exploitation and the criminals but prefer to blame the victims. Why do you condone criminal misconduct? The issues you raised are irrelevant, and is just victim blaming.

Bam wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:35pm:

Quote: "If the employers' records aren't right, if they're being so deliberately exploitative that they're paying $8-10 an hour then they're probably not keeping accurate records of that, so simply looking at the books is not going to fix the problem, that's actually not going to tell us what's going on. We need to talk to people." Simple solution - if an employer isn't keeping proper staff records, fine them heavily. The current penalties are clearly not a deterrent. Something in the order of $25,000 per day should be sufficient.

on another thread yesterday I proposed a 3 strike system. On the third strike they have the business taken away from them

cods wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:58pm:

the immigration dept usually visits these restaurants looking for illegal workers..

they're already understaffed and now they're all busy stopping the boats


cods wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:58pm:

so why isnt the TAX dept also visiting them???

how do you tax a cash system?


bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 3:55pm:

Typical leftard. Don't address the issues I raised just as you run away from any discussion in which you can't handle the issues.

yeah ... cause claiming that no one held a gun to their head was 'handling the issues'  ;D ;D ;D ;D

John Smith wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 5:44pm:

cods wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:58pm: the immigration dept usually visits these restaurants looking for illegal workers.. they're already understaffed and now they're all busy stopping the boats the question was......... about the TAX DEPT?>. cods wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:58pm: so why isnt the TAX dept also visiting them??? how do you tax a cash system? Immigration gets TIP OFFS... I do not believe the TAX DEPOT doesnt also get TIP OFFS>> bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 3:55pm: Typical leftard. Don't address the issues I raised just as you run away from any discussion in which you can't handle the issues. yeah ... cause claiming that no one held a gun to their head was 'handling the issues'  ;D ;D ;D ;D

greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 3:51pm:

aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 3:06pm: greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:55pm: aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:51pm: the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned. is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour. well, it is just the market at work. market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established. if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established. there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices. the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality" 7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner. we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms. neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour. Mr Ed continues to condone illegal conduct. i condone people who would be getting $2 a day in bangladesh being paid $100 for a 10 hour shift which must make them feel like they are in the land of milk and honey. they probably fall to the ground , crying tears of joy, when they get their first pay cheque This isn't Bangladesh - it's Australia. We have laws. You're condoning illegal conduct. You're part of the problem.

I do agree with you gweg.. infact aqua makes you look quite intelligent.........sometimes.

cods wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 5:50pm:

Immigration gets TIP OFFS... I do not believe the TAX DEPOT doesnt also get TIP OFFS>>

of course it gets tip offs. Tax office can't prosecute on tip offs, they need evidence.

bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:12pm:

Point 1. Nobody held a gun to their head and said come to Oz Point 2. Are they paying the true full cost of their education & stay here or is there some amount of transfer payment from us to them. If so this could be considered payback.

Point 3. They’re tinted.

... wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:26pm:

bogarde73 wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:12pm: Point 1. Nobody held a gun to their head and said come to Oz Point 2. Are they paying the true full cost of their education & stay here or is there some amount of transfer payment from us to them. If so this could be considered payback. The studentd are just availing themselves of the opportunities offered to them.  It is the education industry that is using the country like their personal toilet - 430000 international students is all well and good for the institutions, but what about the rest of society, who have to bear the burden?

I know. I often have to buy my petrol off them.

Awful.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 2:55pm:

aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:51pm: the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned. is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour. well, it is just the market at work. market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established. if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established. there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices. the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality" 7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner. we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms. neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour. Mr Ed continues to condone illegal conduct.

Now now, why shouldn’t a dirty tinted student buy a 711 franchise? It’s a free country.

Not here, of course - there.

Karnal wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 8:12pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:55pm: aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:51pm: the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned. is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour. well, it is just the market at work. market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established. if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established. there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices. the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality" 7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner. we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms. neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour. Mr Ed continues to condone illegal conduct. Now now, why shouldn’t a dirty tinted student buy a 711 franchise? It’s a free country. Not here, of course - there.

i would think that most of these underpaid employees are quite capable of climbing the ladder of success.
it seems that most of the posters in this thread are not.
A migrant getting $10 an hour would probably think he was doing well and he would be already climbing.
Most of the posters on here would be constructing a cry baby story if they only got $10, and they would be sitting around complaining.

the ladder of success has about 1000 rungs on it.
the lowest level is to get over the cry baby narrative and the complaining.

once you get over that (and most here would seem incapable), you only have 999 more things to learn and practice and commit to.

aquascoot wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 8:18pm:

Karnal wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 8:12pm: greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:55pm: aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:51pm: the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned. is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour. well, it is just the market at work. market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established. if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established. there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices. the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality" 7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner. we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms. neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour. Mr Ed continues to condone illegal conduct. Now now, why shouldn’t a dirty tinted student buy a 711 franchise? It’s a free country. Not here, of course - there. i would think that most of these underpaid employees are quite capable of climbing the ladder of success. it seems that most of the posters in this thread are not. A migrant getting $10 an hour would probably think he was doing well and he would be already climbing. Most of the posters on here would be constructing a cry baby story if they only got $10, and they would be sitting around complaining. the ladder of success has about 1000 rungs on it. the lowest level is to get over the cry baby narrative and the complaining. once you get over that (and most here would seem incapable), you only have 999 more things to learn and practice and commit to.

As long as they climb in their own countries, dear.

People on student visas aren’t allowed to climb here.They finish their studies and GO BACK TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM.

We grew here they flew here, no?

Karnal wrote on Jul 13^th, 2016 at 9:35pm:

aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 8:18pm: Karnal wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 8:12pm: greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:55pm: aquascoot wrote on Jul 13th, 2016 at 2:51pm: the exchange of ones personal labour for $$$$ is a matter for the individuals concerned. is it exploitation when farmers sell milk for 19 cents a litre and may be effectively working for $5 an hour. well, it is just the market at work. market forces will see dairy farmers stop producing milk, prices will rise and an equilibrium will be established. if 7/11 pay workers $10 an hour  then, if the workers feel they should stop producing work for 7/11 , wages will rise and an equilibrium will be established. there is no need to regulate wages, just as there is no need to regulate prices. the market will solve all these issues and the market is always fair and the market is always in touch with "reality" 7/11 workers are free to go and work elsewhere, they are free to study in their spare time and become a more valuable worker, they are free to save their $10 an hour and buy a 7/11 franchise and employ the children of the current owner. we live in a free society and we should not complain about our marvellous freedoms. neither should we complain when all australians are amongst the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of planet earth  and that includes people earning (by world standards) a fortune at $10 an hour. Mr Ed continues to condone illegal conduct. Now now, why shouldn’t a dirty tinted student buy a 711 franchise? It’s a free country. Not here, of course - there. i would think that most of these underpaid employees are quite capable of climbing the ladder of success. it seems that most of the posters in this thread are not. A migrant getting $10 an hour would probably think he was doing well and he would be already climbing. Most of the posters on here would be constructing a cry baby story if they only got $10, and they would be sitting around complaining. the ladder of success has about 1000 rungs on it. the lowest level is to get over the cry baby narrative and the complaining. once you get over that (and most here would seem incapable), you only have 999 more things to learn and practice and commit to. As long as they climb in their own countries, dear. People on student visas aren’t allowed to climb here.They finish their studies and GO BACK TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM. We grew here they flew here, no?

No , see this is where my ideology differs.

the hungry ambitious aspirational asian who comes here, works in his uncles chinese takeaway for $10 an hour, studies in his spare time, gets a deposit and starts buying housing, puts his kids thru the best schools and generally starts killing it in life.

Well, pauline, the trade unionists, the welfare recipients, the leaners, the leftie complainers and cry babies....they all feel threatened by this bloke...

I dont....

I feel  INSPIRED.

when a little runt of a stallion jumps the fence and takes over the herd of bigger stronger pussies, i just say...

thats evolution baby, you big strong , priveledged, white stallions got your a*ss whipped, you should have thought like that little aspirational guy, you should have improved, you shouldnt have come whining to me because he is BETTER then you.  I told you to improve, i told you to have a rational paranoia about failure, i told you to climb the ladder,,,you ignored my advice and had a little cry because someone arrived and took your sh*t.

Tough titties fellas, globalised world we live in...now off to the doggers with you pussies  . welcome the new alpha  Dim Sim Dong  ;)