The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union is disappointed to hear that after being denied the right to bargain with them by the Fair Work Commission, AP Eagers have admitted to wage theft, devastating workers and their families on the eve of Christmas.

AP Eagers who own the dealerships Motors and Webster Trucks in Tasmania, and employ over 400 people in the state, have self-reported wage theft to the Fair Work Commission

The stolen wages span the previous seven years and amount to $4.2 million owed to over 6,000 employees.

AP Eagers refused to bargain with their Motors mechanics and the AMWU and in 2018, the Fair Work Commission also denied AMWU the right to bargain on behalf of Motors mechanics. These same workers are now facing the Christmas and holiday season knowing their employer stole their hard-earned income.

The admission of this systemic wage theft is just another appalling episode in a pattern of rulings that reflect the deep defects in the Fair Work Commission’s regulations.

The rules guiding the Fair Work Commission are fundamentally flawed when they deny the AMWU and Motor mechanics the right to bargain with a company actively engaged in wage theft.

As stated by Jacob Batt – AMWU State Organiser

“This news is devastating for families already struggling to keep up with the cost of living at Christmas time.”

“For the families affected by this latent wage theft, AP Eagers are the Grinches who have stolen Christmas.”

“How can workers have faith in the Fair Work Commission when the regulations and rules guiding it have effectively allowed the theft of their wages for another year?”

“The AMWU and these Motors mechanics were denied the ability to lift their wages by deeply flawed rules that Fair Work Commission operate under. It’s workers and their families who are feeling the brunt of these bad rules.”

/Public Release.