澳大利亚西悉尼机场地铁分包商被指克扣华工工资、索要现金回扣：企业否认，独立审计进行中
悉尼报道——澳大利亚建筑工会 CFMEU 指控，在总投资110亿澳元的西悉尼机场地铁项目中，石膏板安装分包商 Buildup Interiors 涉嫌通过现金发薪、收取现金回扣的方式克扣最多70名工人的工资。消息人士称，工会指控一名负责从华人社区招工、与 Buildup 有关联的人士曾威胁一名工人：如果配合工会调查，将让他再也无法在这个行业找到工作。
据工会方面转述的工人说法，Buildup 要求工人把正常报税的工资改为账外现金结算，时薪42至50澳元；工人称，即便把津贴、遣散费与保险缴费一并计入，这一收入仍低于工会企业协议规定的标准。对于保留在册的员工，工人还称公司每周向他们收取300澳元现金回扣。CFMEU 新州副执行主任 Chris Pappas 称，针对 Buildup 的指控「可能只是冰山一角」；工会的合规核查认为，该公司涉嫌虚假承包、剥削与恐吓工人。
Buildup 否认全部指控。公司发言人称，这些指控是没有证据支撑的「假新闻」，是工会针对该公司的激进手段；公司已提交工地员工的薪资记录，并称过去三个月工会向其各个工地下达了69份进场通知、意在扰乱施工，公司两次去函要求工会出示指控依据，均未获回复。公司还表示，此前一轮审计只查出少量薪资差额，没有发现现金发薪、虚假承包或恐吓工人的证据。主承包商 Webuild 今年4月的一次例行审计发现，11名员工因企业协议薪资标准适用错误被少付工资；应 Buildup 的申请，澳大利亚公平工作监察专员（Fair Work Ombudsman）正在核实欠薪的具体金额。
目前，Webuild 已聘请外部律师处理工会提出的指控。悉尼地铁局（Sydney Metro）表示，Webuild 已委托独立律所 Kingston Reid，对项目内所有 Buildup 员工开展第二轮深度审计；该局对违规行为持零容忍态度。新州交通厅长 John Graham 表示，最新指控令他十分担忧，一旦独立审计证实指控属实，当局将要求立即采取处置行动。本案目前处于指控与审计阶段，指控是否成立尚无结论。
这是这条机场地铁线路过去六个月内第二家卷入同类风波的分包商。今年早些时候，同一项目的模板工程分包商 Future Form 被悉尼地铁局要求清退——一项独立调查指其涉嫌欠薪、税务欺诈、现金发薪与工人保险不足。Future Form 与 Buildup 是两家不同的公司、两宗不同的调查。
来源：GSM·美国
Subcontractor on Sydney's Western Sydney Airport Metro Accused of Underpaying Chinese Workers and Demanding Cash Kickbacks; Company Denies Claims as Independent Audit Proceeds
SYDNEY — Australia's construction union, the CFMEU, has accused Buildup Interiors, a plasterboard subcontractor on the A$11 billion Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project, of underpaying as many as 70 workers through cash payments and cash kickbacks. According to sources cited by the union, a person associated with Buildup who recruited workers from the Chinese community allegedly threatened one worker that if he cooperated with the union's investigation, he would never find work in the industry again.
Workers cited by the union say Buildup required them to switch from ordinary taxed wages to off-the-books cash payments at A$42 to A$50 an hour — a rate they say remains below the union enterprise agreement standard even after allowances, severance entitlements and insurance contributions are counted. Workers who stayed on the books say the company also collected a A$300 weekly cash kickback from them. Chris Pappas, the CFMEU's deputy executive director in New South Wales, said the allegations against Buildup "could be just the tip of the iceberg," and that the union's compliance checks point to suspected sham contracting, exploitation and intimidation of workers.
Buildup denies all of the allegations. A company spokesperson called them evidence-free "fake news" and an aggressive tactic by the union against the company. Buildup says it has handed over its site payroll records, that the union issued 69 site entry notices across its sites over the past three months to disrupt construction, and that two letters asking the union to substantiate the allegations went unanswered. The company also says an earlier audit found only minor pay discrepancies and no evidence of cash payments, sham contracting or intimidation. A routine audit by head contractor Webuild in April found that 11 employees had been underpaid because the wrong enterprise-agreement pay rate was applied; at Buildup's request, the Fair Work Ombudsman is now verifying the exact amounts owed.
Webuild has engaged external lawyers to deal with the union's allegations. Sydney Metro says Webuild has commissioned the independent law firm Kingston Reid to conduct a second, in-depth audit covering all Buildup employees on the project, and that it has zero tolerance for misconduct. New South Wales Transport Minister John Graham said the latest allegations concerned him greatly and that if the independent audit substantiated them, the government would demand immediate action. The matter remains at the allegation and audit stage; no finding has been made.
Buildup is the second subcontractor on the airport metro line to face such allegations in six months. Earlier this year, formwork subcontractor Future Form was removed from the same project at Sydney Metro's direction after an independent investigation pointed to suspected underpayment, tax fraud, cash payments and inadequate worker insurance. Future Form and Buildup are different companies and separate investigations.
Source: GSM · America
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：建设中的 Sydney Metro 西悉尼机场线 Airport Business Park 站。CC0，维基共享资源。 / The Airport Business Park station under construction on the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
