howard and his slave camps

The scandal over the exploitation of young workers on AWAs continued today as another former worker from Chilis Restaurant in Wollongong told her story to media supporting her colleague, Alice McCarthy's claims that staff were asked to pay back money to their boss if customers left without paying their bill.

Patrons of Chilis have also weighed in backing up the claims of the young workers.

Former Chilis worker
Kirily Piper, a former Chilis worker said:

"You came in and just had to sit down and wait till the place got busy before they even started paying you."

"A table walked out on me once and I was asked to pay for it."

"I signed the AWA because if I wanted a job that's what I had to do."

"I am hoping that the AWAs are really looked because young workers are suffering."

"I put in a complaint to the Office of the Employment Advocate and the OWS in December last year but still haven't heard back from them."

A Chilis restaurant patron
Dave Ritches, a Chilis restaurant patron and small business owner himself, said:

"I was dining at Chilis Restaurant last year with my family when I noticed the waitress was crying and very upset. I asked her if she was ok and she told me that her customer had done a runner and that she had to pay back the boss the $88 bill which was far more than her wage for that day."

"I spoke to her supervisor and got up him a bit and he said that he didn't think it was fair either but it was the policy."

South Coast Labour Council
South Coast Labour Council Secretary, Arthur Rorris, said:

"This one takes the cake, imagine having to pay the boss for the privilege of working for them."

"Is this the sort of flexibility that Howard wants employers to have in the workplace ?"

"This case basically sums it up for young workers under Workchoices: secret agreements, no choices and no rights."

"Many Australian families will be shocked to learn that this sort of exploitation is happening in Australian workplaces - would you want your kids to work under these sorts of conditions made possible by AWAs ?"