Essay On Underpayment In 7 Eleven Franchises: The Role Of Unions And Colleagues

When you are a part time employee, you are more likely to adopt the qualities of a struggling soul. You keep yourself indulged in different activities by hook or by crook - choosing to assign yourself all the tasks that you can probably achieve in a sway or piece by piece. It is, therefore a state, where you want to save as much as you can for the sole purpose of being considerate about and for securing your future. (Berg, 2018). On the other hand we have some legitimate employees. These employees are willingly and passionately indulged in their work, where they are incessantly inputting their hard work and demanding the output of some satisfactory monetary returns. They are sweating themselves off for the firm and compromising their personal interests for the growth and benefit of the firm (Boateng, 2013). It is their basic right to receive an abundant reward, as that is clearly what they deserve. Anything below that is not just morally and ethically wrong, but also economically and financially wide off the mark for the firm itself. 

Such a case of injustice took place in 7 eleven franchises which are situated in throughout Australia. The employees of 7 eleven suffered a determinant decrease in the monetary rewards for their work. Not only did they witness an enormous amount of deterioration in their wage rate, but ‘wage-theft’ was also highlighted as an unfortunate concern to help employees get their reward back (Stewart, Stanford, Hardy 2018). The case was legitimated in the court and employees were paid their basic payroll according to the time and effort they had invested in the company for its progress (Stewart, Stanford, Hardy 2018). This, however, was only made possible through employees’ claims, FairFax media announcing how they were not paid in the approved manner through the payroll media and the inquiry inviting submissions from 7-Eleven employees (who alleged that they had been underpaid) and assessing each individual’s claim.

Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act)

Fair work act was basically introduced as legislation towards Australia’s workplace environment for the betterment of the economy. The decree mainly revolved around the obligations and rules that are to be followed by the employees and employers of a certain organization with the purpose of providing a balanced framework for productive workplace relations (Levy, 2017). The act promoted economic welfare and social inclusions, which helped in neglecting biased conclusions. However, the role that it played in reference to the underpayment crisis did not help the victims as such. As for the franchise networks, it requires more supervision from the higher level network. While this one remained legally insulated from the problems created, this was also due to the arrival of the new chief executive who ended the case as soon as he took over.

Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) in 2016, Fair work commission

The Fair Work Ombudsman initiates legal proceedings, and governs allegations of breaches in the workplace (Levy, 2017). The Fair Work Commission however, administers the Act, reviewing the authentic authorization with renewing entitlements, setting wages considering national minimum wages, and operates in listening to the claims of different tribes with declare rulings. The wage theft in 7 eleven affected not only the employees who were underpaid, but also the employers who underpaid them and later refused to believe that they have been doing so, to protect the image of the company (Berg, 2017). There is a high chance of an audience losing interest in claiming for their rights because people do not usually involve themselves into unwanted disputes. When it comes to pointing out higher authorities that have been taking advantage of the employee, just because they fail to understand how the surrounding works, is when the employees make a move to understand the perspectives organization wide. It is an integral part of the organization to associate employees with their fellow employees, so that the functions of the organization are effective as well as engaging (Chubey, Dimri and Mishra, 2017). Teamwork is a healthier way of performing tasks and building relationships that can in mere future help resolve both large and small scale problems inside and outside of the organization (Chubey, Dimri and Mishra, 2017).