Call for migrant workers to get government support grows louder

There are around 840,000 temporary visa holders with working rights in Australia, with a large proportion of them employed in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

The fear is that international working visa holders will be forced to return home, leaving many restaurants unable to find staff when restrictions eventually lift.

However, some restaurants are taking matters into their own hands, by supporting their working visa staff in any way they can.

One such restaurant is Attica, which is making meals for those international workers who have no means of making money. Around half of Attica's staff are visa workers, according to chef Ben Shewry.

"They were invited here,” he told the ABC. “They were allowed here or welcomed here and now when things got a little bit tough it feels like we're turning our backs on them. That doesn't feel very Australian to me."

Attica is still currently fully staffed for its takeaway service, with $5 from each order diverted to its Soup Project, which offers free soup and freshly made bread to international workers who have lost their jobs.

Neil Perry's Rockpool Foundation has also indicated it will soon begin feeding hundreds of people in Sydney and Melbourne.

Food critic Dani Valent has started a petition in support of visa workers getting some government support, attracting almost 45,000 signatures to date. 

Speaking to the ABC, Valent she was “not an expert … but I know that they've felt grateful to have the information sorted out for them and to have someone they can see cares”.

"They're not just backpacking here for a few months, here for some beer and some beach time. They're really integral to the way Australia runs," she said. 

"A lot of them are on a completely legitimate path to permanent residency which has cost them and sometimes their employers thousands of dollars, so they've invested in their future in Australia."

Sheridan Randall, 27^th April 2020