Migrant workers call for immediate visa protections as Minister Giles fails to deliver on promise
Despite committing to whistleblower protections for migrant worker exploitations, the Albanese Government’s proposal will fail to protect exploited workers from visa cancellation, according to migrant workers and migrant rights experts.
Appearing before the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee in Brisbane today, migrant workers and the Migrant Justice Institute and the Human rights Law Centre called on Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles for strong, reliable and enforceable visa protections for workers, including a guarantee against visa cancellation for temporary migrant workers who take action against their employers.
For the past decade, migrant workers in Australia have been silenced in the face of workplace exploitation for fear of jeopardising their current or future visa.
In June 2023, Minister Giles committed to introducing protections for migrant workers against visa cancellation, and a short-term visa to bring claims for wages they are owed and hold exploitative employers to account.
But the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Bill 2023 (Cth) does not deliver on those commitments, instead providing new powers for the Minister and Department of Home Affairs to 'consider’ evidence of exploitation when cancelling a visa.
The coalition warned that the proposal was cumbersome and unworkable. Instead, Minister Giles should implement the Breaking the Silence visa protections blueprint, endorsed by a coalition of 40 trade unions, migrant rights, academic and faith-based organisations, as the first step forward to driving out migrant worker exploitation.
Quotes attributed to Jed Pica, a former international student and activist with Migrante Melbourne:
“I never thought that in Australia I would be discriminated against because of my visa status. The last thing I expected was to be humiliated, abused and threatened by my boss at work. The threat of visa cancellation was used against me by a café owner in Melbourne to steal my wages and keep me silent.”
“For international students, our visa is everything. If we are threatened with cancellation, we feel we must stay silent on abuse. I always thought of Australia as a fair place where the laws were upheld and respected. By speaking up I knew that I was taking a risk of having my visa cancelled, but I had no choice. Nobody should have to face that position, just to recover their stolen wages.
“I know first-hand that there is a lot of exploitation of students happening right now. There has to be a guarantee against visa cancellation for students and other temporary visa holders if we are underpaid or exploited at work.”
Quotes attributed to Sanmati Verma, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre:
“Since the 7-Eleven scandal a decade ago, we’ve known that the threat of visa cancellation keeps migrant workers locked into unsafe, underpaid work. But because governments refused to act, we’re faced now with a crisis of exploitation – ten percent of workers in Australia are temporary migrants, and three quarters of those workers are being underpaid. This isn’t the time for half measures or tinkering. Migrant workers deserve a guarantee against visa cancellation if they take action against exploitation and abuse. It is a non-negotiable first step if this government intends to act on its commitments and ensure that every worker in this country is treated equally.”
Quotes attributed to Bassina Farbenblum, Co-Executive Director Migrant Justice Institute, and Assoc. Prof. Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney:
“In surveys of over 10,000 international students we found three quarters were paid less than the minimum wage for casual workers. But the overwhelming majority suffered in silence: fewer than one in 10 told anybody. Very few international students approach the Fair Work Ombudsman for fear they will jeopardise their visa.
“With the reintroduction of restrictions on student work hours last month, many who are underpaid will work more hours than they’re allowed in order to make minimum wage, and will be forced to accept illegally low wages in silence. The government cannot fix this crisis without introducing robust visa protections for these students to safely report exploitation.”
Media contact:
Michelle Bennett, 0419 100 519, michelle.bennett@hrlc.org.au
Assoc Prof Bassina Farbenblum, Migrant Justice Institute and UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice, 0412 105 177, bassina@migrantjustice.org