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ABC reimburses underpaid staff $12m

Camera operators, make-up artists, designers, directors, producers, reporters & presenters were amongst underpayed.

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The ABC has back-paid $11.9 million owed to 1828 workers, all of whom were employed casually, as part of an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

An investigation revealed that between October 2012 and February 2019 a total of 1907 ABC employees were underpaid $12,029,038 -some had been paid less than the minimum hourly rate. Workers affected included camera operators, make-up artists, graphic designers, directors, producers, reporters and presenters.

The ABC has also agreed to a $600,000 “contrition payment” to the Commonwealth Consolidated Revenue Fund to be spent in the Australian community. It will also engage an independent expert to conduct annual audits for the next three years.

“The ABC will also engage and pay for an independent expert, approved by the FWO, to conduct annual audits of its workplace compliance for the next three years,” Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said.

“In addition, the ABC must implement an electronic record-keeping and rostering system, and train payroll and HR staff.”

Awkwardly the error emerged after ABC shows such as Four Corners targeted underpayments and staff conditions by companies such as 7-Eleven.

Full remediation to all affected workers will be made by July 31 this year.

ABC said the payment has been budgeted in the current financial year and would have no impact on the requirement to find ongoing savings.

Source: ABC, Nine

6 Responses

  1. It is not as if this happened on purpose, much like George had staff who did the payroll. How does this mishandling of rates happen. Surely across all the working sectors, one assumes would receive updates on all awards, hourly increases, and other new changes to be implemented on such and such a date? .

    1. It happens because overlap of industrial law, awards, enterprise agrees and employment contracts is so complicated that it is expensive and difficult to get it right, and it leaves plenty of room for those want to deliberately try to underpay people. For example does the clerical award apply to your clerks, or is there a clerical provision in your industry awards, or is there a clerical provision in your enterprise bargaining agreement.

      Amusingly the ABC has been amongst those pushing hardest for underpayment to be made a criminal offence.

    1. To be fair, the ABC was not the only media organisation to pile on George. Also, other media are free to cover this story, and if they don’t, you can’t blame the ABC. And lastly, the ABC has the story on ABC News Online and TV. You were saying ?……..

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