Prominent Ballarat businesses will be outed for underpaying workers and bullying behaviour at a Senate Inquiry into worker exploitation due to sit in Ballarat in mid-March. One business to be named at the inquiry next month has been taken to Federal Court by several staff for underpayment only to reach a confidential agreement each time, Ballarat Trades Hall secretary Brett Edgington said. According to Mr Edgington, one of the worst offenders is a Ballarat business which employs between 60 and 90 staff across several venues, and pays more than half its employees “off the book”. One private residential aged care facility reported to Trades Hall pays staff a flat overnight rate of $100 for shifts as long as 12 hours, often overseeing high risk patients.
