Australia's Woolworths admits underpaying staff up to Aus$300 mn

Australian retail giant Woolworths on Wednesday admitted underpaying workers up to 300 million Australian dollars (USD 206 million), the latest in a string of big businesses that have failed to properly pay staff.

The payment shortfall by one of the country's largest grocery chains is the largest in Australian history and follows a series of wage scandals that have affected some of the country's biggest names.

Woolworths estimated that about 5,700 staff had been underpaid between Aus$200 million and Aus$300 million dating back to 2010.

"We unreservedly apologise," CEO Brad Banducci said in a statement.

"The highest priority for Woolworths Group right now is to address this issue, and to ensure that it doesn't happen again."
She added: "Lately, we are seeing a disturbing number of large corporates publicly admitting that they have underpaid their staff."
"Some of these matters go back many years and several comprise millions of dollars owed to workers. This is simply not good enough."