India’s former envoy to Australia ordered to pay $97,200 fine for underpaying staff

Navdeep Suri, India’s former high commissioner to Australia, has been ordered to pay a fine of nearly $100,000 to a former domestic worker he paid every day for more than a year, ABC News reported. The salary was reported to be less than $10.

The latest penalty follows a previous federal court order against Suri. Repay $136,000 plus interest on work Seema Shergill It was held at the then High Commissioner’s residence in Canberra.

At a hearing in November 2023, Federal Court Judge Elizabeth Raper heard Shergill traveled to Australia in April 2015 and worked for Suri for a year. During a 13-month period from April 2015 to May 2016, she worked 17.5 hours a day, seven days a week.

The court heard Shergill was paid the equivalent of nearly $3,400 for work that included cleaning the house, cooking, tending the garden and walking Suri’s dog. Additionally, the money was transferred to an Indian bank account, which she did have access to while in Australia, ABC News reported.

Now, Judge Elizabeth Raper has ordered Suri to pay Shergill a $97,200 fine within 60 days. The Federal Court found that Suri breached the Fair Work Act on nine counts.

That’s the maximum penalty a court can impose, according to ABC News.

In his written judgment, Judge Raper said Navdeep Suri’s “breach” of Seema Shergill’s obligations was not trivial and, in fact, “in no sense It’s all shocking and exploitative,” as they refused to allow her any “work-life divide.” “.

“The circumstances of this case are [the] The definition of slave-like conditions,” ABC News reported, quoting Judge Raper as saying.

The judge said Seema Shergill’s inability to take time off from work compounded her poor working conditions.

Judge Raper further said Suri was not involved in the proceedings at any point and therefore had shown no evidence of cooperation and “remorse”.

Meanwhile, Seema Shergill’s pro bono lawyer, Clayton Utz partner David Hillard, said she courageously pursued the case and watched it lead to verdict.

“For someone who has not had previous exposure to the Australian legal system, this is a scary thing,” Hillard was quoted as saying by ABC News.

The lawyer further said the verdict should prompt legislative changes to ensure that family help at diplomatic residences is more “visible”.

India rejects court ruling

According to the original court order against Navdeep Suri in November 2023, India also strongly refutes, It said Australia was not competent to adjudicate on the issue of its High Commission personnel serving in India. Foreign Affairs Department spokesperson Arindam Bachi called on Canberra to fulfill its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“Her actions and false statements raise suspicions that this was all motivated by her desire to remain in Australia permanently, which she appears to have succeeded,” Budge said.

He said the service member (Shergill) “deliberately left her job in May 2016, a day before she was scheduled to return to India”. “Since then, we have repeatedly requested the Australian authorities to find her and repatriate her to India,” he added.