As Homer Simpson famously stated, the machinery of capitalism is oiled with the blood of the workers. Well it seems the food of celebrity chef George Calombaris is flavoured with the blood, sweat and tears of the 500 workers he underpaid a total of $7.8 million in his restaurants.
Of course, Mr Calombaris is so very, very sorry about all this, and has promised to repay...$200,000. I'm sure that is great comfort to the hospitality workers dudded out of their pay and superannuation whilst Calombaris continues to enjoy the privileges of his celebrity lifestyle including a luxury estate in Toorak. What are the chances he'll lose any of this to repay his debt?
But he should. Let's make Calombaris repay every cent he owes. There shouldn't be one rule for the wealthy and another for the rest of us. If it's good enough for people on Robodebt it's good enough for him. Have the tax office audit his income and assets. Force him to prove what he earns and how he's going to repay what he owes. Have debt collectors call him. And if he wants to speak to someone about this, make him wait on hold for 2.5 hours to speak to an operator.
It's only fair.
ABC News
0 comments: