Children’s clothing retailer Blue Sky Kids Land has been fined more than $5.1 million for exploiting Chinese migrants.
The company previously operated stores in Sydney, NSW’s Central Coast, Newcastle and Canberra, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).
The penalties include a $4.3 million penalty against Blue Sky Kids Land, $760,000 against company director Guo Dong Gu, and $43,000 against company director Fei Rong Yang. Q Fay Trading, a company operated by Gu and Yang which imported and supplied products to the stores, also received a $44,100 fine.
The FWO discovered that the company had employed four Chinese women in retail positions at its stores between October 2015 and June 2018. They were paid as little as $10 an hour, resulting in underpayments worth $131,920.
The retailer also breached workplace laws by giving false records to Fair Work Inspectors.
In addition to the penalties, the court has ordered Blue Sky Kids Land and its directors to make back-payments to the workers, plus superannuation and interest.
The total penalties are the third highest ever secured in court by the FWO, following the $15.3 million fines secured in the Sushi Bay case and $10.3 million in the Commonwealth Bank and CommSec case.
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