By Colin Packham
SYDNEY, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Efforts to compensate allegedly underpaid workers at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Australia will fail without a visa amnesty for affected staff, lawyers said on Monday.
Australia's 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd, which is licensed by U.S.-based 7-Eleven Inc, has appointed an independent panel to investigate allegations it underpaid staff or forced them to work longer hours without compensation.
But Giri Sivaraman, principal at legal firm Maurice Blackburn representing the workers, said many of the affected staff were on student or other visas and feared being deported if they spoke out.
Sivaraman said complainants would need to provide evidence, including rosters, time sheets and bank statements to prove their claim, but in doing so they could also show they broke visa rules.
"They don't trust the company and are concerned they will be reported for working more than 20 hours a week when, in fact, they were often coerced into doing this," Sivaraman said.
Maurice Blackburn was representing nearly 100 complainants although thousands of current or former 7-Eleven staff could be affected, a source with knowledged of the legal process said.
Many Australian student visas prohibit holders from working more than 20 hours a week.
A spokesman for 7-Eleven did not respond to requests for comment on the lawyer's statements.
Russ Withers, chairman of 7-Eleven Australia, said in a statement earlier this month that the company would compensate any staff affected.
"The bottom line is, what has happened with franchisees not meeting their employer obligations has happened on our watch, and we are going to make this right," Withers said.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Stephen Coates)