A Sydney law firm’s class-action seeks damages from 7-Eleven and ANZ bank after thousands of the convenience store workers were underpaid in Australia.
The convenience chain giant was required to pay back millions of dollars to thousands of workers.
It comes after it was revealed in 2015 that there was rampant wage theft across hundreds of convenience stores. The companies loaned people the money they used to buy their franchise.
7-Eleven has issued a statement over the potential class action on Friday, asserting is intends to “vigorously defend any such proceedings” based on what is known.
“We are proud of the significant efforts we have made together with our franchise network to continually adapt our business, and the positive results that are being achieved. We intend to continue these efforts,” the convenience chain said.
Sydney lawyer Stewart Levitt alleged the chain practised a “de facto ethnic selection of franchisees” in order to select store owners less likely to blow the whistle on employment practices, Fairfax Media reported in early 2016. He told AAP on Thursday the class action was, however, broader and based on a sweeping review of 7-Eleven’s “entire system and the ANZ funding”.
