Adelaide is the wage theft capital of Australia.

Underpayment is the standard business model with penalty rates being ignored.

There’s a class action pending against McDonald’s restaurants in Broken Hill, Victor Harbour and Aldinga, to name just a few.

Young workers comprise 16 per cent of the workforce in Australia but account for 25 per cent of requests for help from the Fair Work Ombudsman.

While many South Australian businesses pay their workers the award, during the past 20 years some employers in the hospitality and agricultural industries, have ‘redistributed’ young workers’ pay into their own pockets.

One McDonald’s worker – a 22-year-old – who worked at West Lakes McDonald’s for six years, alleges he was never offered a rest break.

Desperate young people are also using labour hire companies to find work. They receive text messages the day before they are required to work, sometimes for just one shift.

They can’t bargain for better conditions or gain security of employment.

It’s not only international students but all young people working in the hospitality and services sector in Adelaide.

Some Chinese student workers who complain, have been blacklisted online from employment.

The SA Government has done nothing.