Australia's foreign workers being exploited over wages
Australia is chronically underpaying its foreign workers, with almost a third of international students, backpackers and other temporary migrants earning $12 an hour or less, according to a new study.
The survey also found that workers in the fruit and vegetable-picking and farm sectors were the most exploited, with 15 per cent of workers earning $5 an hour or less and almost a third earning $10 an hour or less.
The findings were published in the report Wage Theft in Australia authored by senior law lecturers Bassina Farbenblum, from the University of New South Wales, and Laurie Berg, from the University of Technology Sydney.
“The study dispelled the misconception that temporary migrants are underpaid because they are unaware of minimum wage rates in Australia,” the report said.
“Though they may not have known their precise entitlements, the overwhelming majority who earned $15 or less knew that the legal minimum wage was higher. However, they perceived that few people on their visa can expect to receive minimum wages under Australian labour law, with at least 86% of believing that many, most or all other people on their visa are paid less than the basic legal minimum wage.”
The study also showed that less than a third of underpaid migrant workers went to the fair work ombudsman and of those, more than half recovered nothing.
“Four per cent of participants indicated that someone in their workplace had threatened to report them to the immigration department,” the report stated.
“This included 92 temporary migrants (3 per cent) who had been threatened by their employer or a manager, which was likely calculated to induce compliance with particular work conditions and/or to deter complaint.”
Speaking to The Guardian, Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey described the exploitation of migrant labour as a “national shame that Australia must confront and fix”.
“All too often the people cleaning our offices, serving our meals or working a service station cash register are illegally ripped off,” he said.
“As a nation, we can’t keep averting our eyes and pretending this is not happening. The growth of contingent visas is actively preventing many workers with foreign passports from enforcing their labour rights.”
Sheridan Randall, 31st October 2018
