How do you think your boss would feel if you opened the till at work, took cash out, and kept it for yourself? That’s stealing, right – you’d probably lose your job.
Turn the situation around: How would you feel if your boss opened your wallet, took cash out, and kept it for themselves – and got away with it?
You might think that sounds crazy – but that’s exactly what is happening right now, in workplaces all across Australia.
Compliance tests by the Australian Tax Office last year found that a whopping three quarters of employers had stolen superannuation from their workers.
In total, $5 billion in super is stolen from workers each year in Australia. That’s reprehensible.
Employers cannot continue to see super as an unimportant, optional extra to their workers’ wages: super is workers’ wages.
The crime of not paying super is no less than that of wage theft.
Bosses are failing to pay super, and get away with it, because the Morrison Government isn’t taking this seriously.
Instead, the Federal Government should be making super a fundamental workplace right in the National Employment Standards (NES) and legislate that super is paid at the same time as wages.
This is yet another example of Scott Morrison perpetuating a power imbalance that favours dodgy employers and leaves workers out in the cold.
It’s unacceptable. We won’t back down from this fight until workers are receiving every dollar of super they’re entitled to and employers are facing proper punishments that fit the crime.
The best way to protect yourself from super & wage theft?
Joining your Union.
In nearly every case of superannuation and wage theft discovery and recovery, unions are behind it.
You don’t have to fight this battle on your own. Together we can drive positive change and economic justice for all.
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Super theft puts your hard earned future at risk – here’s how to prevent it