In December 2015, James Evans hatched a plan with the National Union of Workers to go undercover to expose wage fraud at a third party fundraiser for some of the country's most well-known charities.
In the world of unions, planting an organiser into a workplace to gather information or organise a union, is known as "salting".
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In Evans' case, the decision to embed himself as a "salt" at the call centre of MonDial Fundraising Communications, which is used by charities including Oxfam, Wilderness Society, UNICEF and the RSPCA, turned out to be a big win for workers – and the union.
Evans' investigation would expose underpayment of more than 824 workers and former workers over more than five years. It prompted the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) to take action, including entering an enforceable undertaking with the company and forcing it to repay workers $780,000 in unpaid wages.
In its enforceable undertaking, it found MonDial had "unintentionally" short changed workers and was now trying to make amends. It was paying back the money and making a $10,000 donation.
But as the spotlight continues to shine on the increasing use of third party fundraisers, some of which have been embroiled in allegations of rampant wage fraud – in some cases as low as $2.50 an hour - and humiliating rituals, questions are being asked about the obligations of the charities.
Over the past few years, third party fund raising has become big business, with estimates that as much as $100 million a year is raised by third party fundraisers for the donation-hungry charity sector.
Not surprisingly, the FWO is investigating charities and charity collectors as part of a national inquiry into the not-for-profit sector in an attempt to put some transparency into an opaque sector.
![Charities should start taking a stand instead of waiting until they are shamed into it.](/web/20161118222651im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/s/u/d/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gssjxj.png/1479463763689.jpg)
Interestingly, not all charities are using third party fundraisers. One, the Children's Cancer Foundation, (CCF) has remained steadfast in its rejection.
In a letter to its donors last month, the charity's chairman Jeremy Smith said the CCF had never contracted with third party fund raisers and it won't partner with charities or foundations that raise funds using these types of methods.
![The call centre of MonDial Fundraising Communications is used by charities including Oxfam, UNICEF and the RSPCA,](/web/20161118222651im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/8/4/z/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gssjxj.png/1479463763689.jpg)
Smith said every week the CCF is approached by a commercial operator seeking to "attach the name of the Foundation to what is essentially a commercial scheme where the vast bulk of revenue would end up in the pocket of that operator. All such approaches are rejected".
Not so for most charities. This is despite the bad publicity that has befallen some of these third party fundraisers in recent months, including Appco, MonDial and Australian Sales and Promotion.
![Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James.](/web/20161118222651im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/y/c/1/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gssjxj.png/1479463763689.jpg)
In the case of MonDial, a few, including Wilderness, Oxfam and Greenpeace agreed to support MonDial entering enterprise agreement discussions with the NUW.
Emails written by Greenpeace to the boss of MonDial in April say "In answer to your question, we would of course support a collective agreement and MonDial entering into EBA discussions with the NUW. We have an EA here at Greenpeace which works very well for us. My response will be the same to our other call centre partners if this is raised."
After months of delays, MonDial finally pulled the plug on September 26, telling the union: "At this time, the company is awaiting final execution of the Undertaking by the FWO… In the circumstances, the Company is not in a position to commence a bargaining process regarding an enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA). We have of course carefully considered this decision, but under the circumstances our fullest attention must be dedicated to our staff wellbeing, ensuring our full workplace compliance and meeting our obligations within the Undertaking. We are not adverse to reviewing this decision at the completion of the Undertaking period."
Over a week, the NUW visited MonDial three times and asked workers if they would like to bargain. Most said a resounding "yes" and signed a majority support petition.
According to the union, some workers said they had been warned that to sign the petition would be against the company.
Then on November 16, the NUW racheted it up by lodging a majority support determination at Fair Work Australia. It did this on the basis that if an employer refuses to bargain after a majority of employees have indicated they would like to do so, then a union can make application to Fair Work for a determination that the company must bargain. A Commissioner must be satisfied a majority wants to bargain and may order a ballot of employees, in which case the company and the union fight an election campaign in effect.
A series of questions were sent to MonDial asking why it had stopped bargaining with the union, how much money had so far been repaid to workers and whether any charities had stopped using its services. Its response was: "I can confirm that at this point in time we are still in communication with the NUW and we are awaiting further instruction from Fair Work in relation to this process." It said it wasn't being "obstructive" in the process and was complying with its obligations under the Fair Work Act.
As for The Wilderness Society and Greenpeace, they still use MonDial. In a statement Greenpeace says: "We understand that Mondial is still in communication with the NUW, and hope to see a swift resolution to their internal negotiations with employees."
Oxfam also remains supportive and says "we understand MonDial's focus right now is on the enforceable undertaking to the Fair Work Commission and the underpayment of employees, with the company saying it will revisit the question of the Enterprise Agreement after this. We remain very keen for the company to do so."
The $107 billion charity sector is supposed to look after disadvantaged people. With so much financial firepower, it should start taking a stand instead of waiting until they are shamed into it.
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