Last time that I mentioned Camy Shanghai Dumpling House, I conjectured that the popularity was due to its open secret status and cheapness. At least now we know where the cheapness comes from: not paying their staff. From the Herald-Sun:
Mr Chang worked 13-hour days from 9.30am-10.30pm with only five-minute breaks, which had to be approved by the boss, for $100 a day.
He worked six days a week and his only holiday was Christmas Day, according to Federal Magistrate Grant Riethmuller. “It is clear that the patrons attended for the quality of the Shanghai dumpling-style cooking rather than the ambience of the premises,” Mr Riethmuller said.
Mr Chang feared if he lost his job his visa would be cancelled and he took action only after he had permanent Australian residency, the magistrate said.
The court found that Mr Chang had been underpaid from December 2004 to January 2008.
Mr Riethmuller ordered restaurant owners Min-Seng Zheng and Rui Zhi Fu to pay $172,677 in unpaid overtime and penalty rates, and $25,000 of superannuation. Their lawyer, Alex Lewenberg, said the owners planned to appeal.
I also praise Federal Magistrate Grant Riethmuller for his knowledge of the premises.
I’m surprised the Federal Magistrate suggested that people went to Camy’s for the quality of the cooking – Camy’s has been found guilty for breaches of food handling & safety regulations also. I stopped going here years ago after a visit with a pregnant friend, and subsequently finding this out.
Thanks for posting this, I hadn’t yet seen it and frankly I’m not surprised. I don’t get the popularity of the place. I walked past it on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago and there was a long queue to get in. I want to shake these people – do they not get it? The dodginess of the place is not hip and it’s not cool – there’s a human cost to the cheapness of the food, on a number of levels.
Limited holidays is one thing but for not being able to receive the salary you deserve is a different story. I was not aware of this until I came across this post. It’s good thing to know that Federal Magistrate Grant Riethmuller has made legal actions in order to stop it and I hope it should be a lesson to everyone that everyone has the right to speak up and fight for their rights.
Thanks for sharing!