Refugees and asylum seekers employed to sort rubbish were systematically exploited and underpaid by one of the biggest recycling organisations inA recycling company formerly known as Polytrade, a linked subsidiary, and its owners, were fined more than $375,000 in the federal court this month, over what a judge described as “obnoxious conduct” and a “cavalier disregard” for the law, grossly underpaying migrant workers who spoke little English and were vulnerable to exploitation.
. At worst, it involved a deliberate and cavalier disregard of important award safety net obligations.” Snaden said the total fines imposed, while significant, were warranted against Polytrade, given the “scale and audacity of its transgressions”.