A very complex wage complaint has come to an end with BLF member Robert Allen settling for $16,000 from Toth Engineering. Mr. Allen accepted the out of court offer for his claim of unpaid wages Friday, 22 January. The claim went back six years which is as far back an unpaid wages complaint can be legally taken.

The BLF Industrial Relations Officer, Kevin Crank says the money Toth Engineering owed Mr. Allen was extremely complex and difficult to calculate. Mr Allen worked as a rigger installing Toth’s fabrications on union sites, but he also had other duties in the company’s factory.

“Mr Allen performed tasks which fall under the union EBA as well as work under another Award, which had a lower rate. The BLF had to go through three years worth of payslips and timesheets, to calculate the amount owing,” he said.

Mr. Crank handled the negotiations for Mr. Allen after lodging the unpaid wages claim with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission on 23 December last year.

He says this case is a warning for employers who aren’t paying employees correctly.

“Employers may think they’ve gotten away with underpaying employees because a few years have passed, but they haven’t,” Mr. Crank said.
Mr Allen says he is certain he wouldn’t have retrieved any of his unpaid wages if he hadn’t involved the union.

“My advice is to have an EBA agreement and stop working as soon as it is breached. Go straight to the Union and don’t start work again until it’s fixed,” Mr Allen said.

Mr Allen was underpaid for years despite having saved his boss’ life.

“We were building a block of units, working on the second storey with no safety harnesses. Wally was nailing weather proof boards and slipped. I was just close enough to grab him and the side of the building at the same time,” Mr Allen said.

Mr Allen is now working in Jimbour about 30km north of Dalby. He says he is now living a stress free life, enjoying trail biking, fishing and prospecting.