Migrant Workers Get Boost in Workplace Rights and Power through Reforms

Migrant workers on temporary visas will be better protected against exploitation under a new suite of federal Government measures that introduces safeguards for workers and tougher penalties for dodgy bosses. Under the measures, employers will face criminal charges if they coerce a temporary migrant worker to breach their visa, or misuse the worker's immigration status to influence them to accept exploitative conditions. Employers with a track record of illegal exploitation will also be prohibited from employing workers on temporary visas. The Department of Home Affairs will work with unions and industry to create a 'firewall' between it and the Fair Work Ombudsman to encourage exploited migrant workers to come forward and report abuse. This is a key reform Unions NSW has campaigned for since 2017. New standards will also be developed to protect workers against the threat of visa cancellation, with a short term visa to be trialled allowing temporary migrants to remain in Australia to pursue workplace entitlements or support an investigation. Workers on sponsored temporary visas will also have more time to find a new sponsor, with the time extended to 180 days. Better education and information campaigns will also be rolled out explaining rights and responsibilities for migrant workers and employers. "For too long, workers on temporary migrant visas have been badly exploited because opportunistic bosses have dangled the threat of deportation over their heads," said Mark Morey, Secretary of Unions NSW. "These are sensible reforms that not only provide migrant workers with better rights, but critically, with the capacity to enforce them. "These reforms send a clear message to employers, who will face penalties if they exploit a worker on the basis of their visa status. "Since 2018, we have demonstrate how migrant wage theft is a business model for some employers by cataloguing how foreign language job ads openly seek workers at illegally low rates of pay. The Government's commitment to create a firewall between Home Affairs and the Fair Work Ombudsman is a welcome step that we have consistently called for. We look forward to working towards its implementation. "These reforms are an excellent start. Unions NSW will continue to push for an end to the restriction on working hours for international students which has the perverse effect of making them work longer hours in the informal economy, often for an illegally lower hourly rate of pay." Comment: Mark Morey 0425 231 812