Over the last decade, journalist Ben Schneiders has been reporting on wage theft for The Age, breaking stories on incidents of underpayment across the hospitality, retail and horticultural sectors. In his new book Hard Labour: Wage Theft in the Age of Inequality, Ben explores how these incidents of systematic wage theft reflect the growing inequality in Australian society. From the decline of unionisation to the proliferation of the shareholder model, Hard Labour draws the line between where we’ve been and where we might go if nothing is done to address these growing levels of inequality. Ben drops by The Grapevine to chat about the new book, “plummeting levels of unionisation”, and what can be done to reverse the rising levels of inequality in Australia.

Hard Labour: Wage Theft in the Age of Inequality is out now via Scribe.