(ATR) Australian Olympic Committee executive Russell Withers is the chairman of 7-Eleven Australia who is currently embroiled in a wage controversy.
A joint media investigation from Four Corners and Fairfax Media into labor practices at 7-Eleven chains claims the convenience store chain has systemically underpaid workers for years.
An anonymous insider of the company told reporters many employees made less than minimum wage and sometimes went unpaid for weeks on end.
As a result of the investigation, Withers has decided to step down from his elevated position within the Australian Olympic Committee.
"What's required of me as 7-Eleven Stores chairman means I cannot give the AOC the commitment and clarity such a role deserves and demands," Withers said in a statement.
The decision from Withers came after a discussion he had with the president of the AOC and IOC vice president John Coates. Withers told Coates he would do whatever Coates thought was the best course of action.
"I wanted to let you know that I am in your hands and happy to either stand aside or stand down from my AOC roles," Withers told Coates.
Coates was en route to Lausanne, Switzerland at the time the news report broke implicating Withers in the scandal. He recognized Withers’ several years of service within the committee he had served on since 2001.
"Russell has made an outstanding contribution to the AOC since 2001. It is a voluntary role, and he has been extremely generous with his time and we have benefited greatly from his input as chairman of the AOC Audit Committee, a member of the AOC Finance Commission and as a director of the Australian Olympic Foundation and member of its Investment Advisory Committee," Coates said in a statement.
After serving on the committee for 15 years, Withers does not want to entangle the AOC with the scandal his personal business is facing.
"I certainly don’t want to see any blowback onto the AOC, particularly when the AOC runs to such high governance standards. Continuing claims about 7-Eleven and its business cannot be allowed to pollute the AOC's work," Withers said.
Following the wage allegations, 7-Eleven is setting up a panel to review these underpayment claims by the investigation funded solely by the company. They are also increasing their financial support to franchisees offering up to $310,000 in aid.
Written by Kevin Nutley
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
