1 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: Bungelung Caalcutin woman from Gadighal Country. The Daily oz acknowledges 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,479 Speaker 1: that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres 5 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 1: first peoples of these countries, both past and present. 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 2: Good morning and welcome to the Daily os It's Wednesday, 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 2: the seventh of December. Happy birthday to my brother David. 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 3: I'm Zara, I'm Sam. 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 2: Now. The exploitation of migrant workers in Australia is endemic, 11 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 2: according to a new report by Union's New South Wales 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 2: and in today's Deep Dive, we're gonna look at how 13 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 2: this is happening and what it means in the context 14 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 2: of Australia's work A shortage but first Sam the headlines. 15 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 3: The Reserve Bank of Australia the RBA has lifted the 16 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 3: cash rate for the eighth successive month. The latest point 17 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 3: twenty five percentage point increase means the figure is now 18 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 3: at three point one percent, the first time we've seen 19 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,319 Speaker 3: a three in front of it. For a little while. 20 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 3: This rais will be the last for twenty twenty two, 21 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 3: with the RBA Board making its next decision on interest 22 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:21,759 Speaker 3: rates in February. 23 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 2: A meeting of National Cabinet, expected to be centered on 24 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 2: rising energy prices, will take place on Friday. It will 25 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 2: now be held virtually after PM. Anthony Albanesi tested positive 26 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 2: for COVID nineteen earlier this week. 27 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 3: If you're feeling like your air travel has been a 28 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 3: little expensive recently, you're not alone. The A Trible C 29 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 3: has issued a warning to airlines for the upcoming holiday period. 30 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 3: A Triple C Commissioner Annabraki said they would be watching 31 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 3: closely to see if airlines are limiting flight capacity to 32 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 3: keep airfares high. 33 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 2: And the good news, an indigenous women led environmental group 34 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 2: in Queensland has been awarded one point eight million dollars 35 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 2: for their work in conserving the Great Barrier Reef. The 36 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 2: Queensland Indigenous Women Ranger Network combines traditional First Nations knowledge 37 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 2: and modern technologies to conserve the reef and was one 38 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 2: of five winners at the twenty twenty two Earthshop Prize awards. 39 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 2: A new report from Union's New South Wales has found 40 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,919 Speaker 2: that the exploitation of migrant workers here in Australia is endemic. 41 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 2: The report looked at issues from illegally low wages to 42 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 2: mistreatment and exploitation, and in some cases it looked at 43 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 2: how workers were being threatened with deportation if they reported 44 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 2: that to their employers. 45 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,120 Speaker 3: This is a really interesting and often unreported area of 46 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 3: the economy. Zara. What did the report set out to 47 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 3: do well? 48 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 2: Its main focus was on temporary migrants working in Australia 49 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 2: on skilled student or working holiday visas. The people on 50 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 2: those temporary visas collectively make up about three percent of 51 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 2: the Australia in workforce. So to learn more about these people, 52 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 2: the report set out to do two things. Firstly, they 53 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 2: looked at thousands of job ads targeting non English speaking migrants, 54 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 2: so ads that were written in Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Spanish 55 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 2: and Portuguese. The authors then went and spoke to the 56 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 2: workers themselves about what their experiences in the workforce were actually. 57 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 3: Like and what were the high level findings here. 58 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:28,799 Speaker 2: Well, when researchers looked at the job ads, so that 59 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 2: first component of the report, they found that across the 60 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 2: top industries they looked at sixty percent of non English 61 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 2: job ads offered a rate below the legal minimum wage 62 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 2: or award wage for the job. In other words, the 63 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 2: wages that they were advertising were illegally low. The report 64 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 2: highlighted the worst industries for this in terms of the 65 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 2: number of illegal wages being advertised, and that was in 66 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 2: the retail and cleaning industries. And they also looked at 67 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 2: what the most common language that these ads were being 68 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 2: run in was, and that was Chinese. 69 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 3: Now that I think about it, there's no legal checks 70 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 3: and balances when you upload and ads, so I guess 71 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 3: it's not entirely surprising that these types of ads are 72 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 3: falling through the cracks. But I'm interested in the part 73 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 3: of the report as well where there's a direct conversation 74 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 3: with workers. What did they say? 75 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 2: So over one thousand migrant workers were surveyed for this report, 76 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 2: and of those, thirty five percent claimed that they were 77 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 2: offered lower pay because of their migrant visa, twenty seven 78 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 2: percent claimed that they were offered lower pay because of 79 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,480 Speaker 2: their nationality, and then fourteen percent claimed that they were 80 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 2: bullied because of their migrant status or of their nationality. 81 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 2: There are also lots of accounts of widespread unpaid wages. 82 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 2: The report included an account of two workers being told 83 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 2: that they were expected to work forty five hours a 84 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 2: week for free before. 85 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 3: They'd be on the books. 86 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 2: Another account was from a person working as a cleaner 87 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 2: for a large company which then ended up being liquidated, 88 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 2: and that person was owed two thousand dollars in wages 89 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 2: that they weren't sure they'd ever received. 90 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,840 Speaker 3: Okay, And in the real world, what options are available 91 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 3: to people who were in this kind of situation. 92 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 2: Well, in some cases, it's really hard to do anything. 93 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 2: Twenty percent of migrant workers surveyed in the report said 94 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 2: that they were reluctant and understandably so to complain because 95 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 2: they were afraid of being deported. And this one is 96 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 2: of particular concern for international students. So we got a 97 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 2: bit of an example in the report about the account 98 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 2: of someone called Julie. Julie came to Australia on a 99 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 2: student visa to study psychology, and she thought she'd saved 100 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 2: enough money for her time here, but when she got here, 101 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 2: she realized how expensive Sydney was, so she started to 102 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 2: apply for work. She wasn't having much luck, as no 103 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 2: one wanted to hire someone that could only work forty 104 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 2: hours per fortnite, which is a limit set for the 105 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 2: student visa. Eventually, though, she did find a job at 106 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 2: a local cafe. They offered her twelve dollars and six 107 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 2: cents an hour, but this rate, which is already below 108 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 2: the minimum wage, then dropped to eight dollars and six 109 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 2: cents per hour as the owner said the cafe was struggling. 110 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 2: When Julie approached her employer, he said that if she 111 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 2: reported him, he would report her for breaching her student visa. Remember, 112 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 2: she was legally only allowed to work forty hours, and 113 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 2: he said he had sent to other employees home before 114 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 2: for similar reasons. So she ended up saying eight more 115 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 2: months in the job because she was scared of losing 116 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 2: her visa. 117 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:28,239 Speaker 3: And tell me about the experience of those on working 118 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 3: holiday visas. I know that's a very large group of people. 119 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, So for those people who are on working holiday visas, 120 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 2: working on a farm is actually one of the ways 121 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 2: that you can extend that visa. And within that picking 122 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 2: fruit is a really popular choice. But fruit pickers are 123 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,600 Speaker 2: often paid per piece that they pick, and while there 124 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 2: is a legal guarantee that these piece rate workers won't 125 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,679 Speaker 2: be paid below a certain amount. The union report found 126 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 2: that forty three percent of employers were actually still underpaying 127 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 2: even if they met in the minimum wage. Many threatened 128 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 2: to fire employees if they didn't pick enough fruit. The 129 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 2: report actually had a screenshot of an ad on social 130 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,239 Speaker 2: media looking for someone to work on a raspberry farm. 131 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 2: They said they'd pay the mandated minimum wage of twenty 132 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 2: five dollars and forty one cents an hour, but that 133 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 2: a supervisor will still check who has picked less than 134 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 2: that in value, and the ad actually goes on to 135 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 2: spell out that if you don't improve, you'll probably get fired. 136 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 3: It sounds like it's an industry and landscape fraught with issues. 137 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 3: Did this report make any recommendations on how to actually 138 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 3: go about improving things well? 139 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 2: To address some of the things we've spoken about, Union's 140 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 2: New South Wales recommended abolishing hour limits on student visas 141 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 2: so that people like Duly wouldn't face that same situation, 142 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 2: and then also abolishing the farm work requirement for working 143 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 2: holiday visas, and again that would be to close the 144 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 2: exploitation gap that's happening in that specific industry. The report 145 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 2: also recommended steps to ensure that visa holders who had 146 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 2: been exploited at work couldn't be deported for breaching their 147 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 2: visa conditions, so that idea that they were too scared 148 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 2: to speak up about the exploitation would hopefully be averted. 149 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 2: The union also called for clear and reliable pathways to 150 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 2: permanent residency. 151 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 3: So this is a report from Union's New South Wales. 152 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 3: Have we heard much from the government itself. 153 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 2: It was actually the Federal Immigration Minister, Andrew Giles who 154 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 2: launched this report and he said that the exploitation of 155 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 2: migrant workers had become a business model in many industries. 156 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 2: The minister told TDA that the government would actively consider 157 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,719 Speaker 2: the recommendations in the report and that the government was 158 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 2: focused on making it easier for people to speak out. 159 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 3: I found this to be a really interesting story because 160 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 3: there seems to be a bit of a dichotomy here. 161 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,959 Speaker 3: We've seen so much coverage of Australia's worker shortage post COVID, 162 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:54,680 Speaker 3: but then these workers who have elected to come to 163 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 3: Australia as saying they are having a really negative experience. 164 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 3: It's hardly a tour campaign for coming to work in Australia, 165 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 3: and at a time where we need more workers to 166 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 3: come it's going to be really hard to get them 167 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 3: to come and work here. 168 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 2: It is, and this has been an ongoing issue. It 169 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 2: was one of the focuses of the Jobs and Skill 170 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 2: Summit that happened back in September. At that time, the 171 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 2: Albanese government did make a few announcements, in particular that 172 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 2: they try to bring at least nine thousand more foreign 173 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 2: workers to help with the shortage of fruit and vegetable pickers. 174 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 2: These workers are critical to ensuring that there's enough affordable 175 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 2: food for us to eat and that the economy is 176 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:36,559 Speaker 2: basically functioning as it is supposed to. But you're right 177 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 2: when we see reports like this which indicate that the 178 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 2: migrant workers that are coming here are potentially being exploited, 179 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 2: it definitely does lead to the question. 180 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 3: Of will we be able to fill these. 181 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 2: Worker shortages and what can be done to ensure that 182 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 2: they are safe if and when they do come to 183 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 2: work here. 184 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 3: Thank you for joining us on the Daily OS this morning. 185 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,599 Speaker 3: If you learn something from today's episode, don't forget to 186 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 3: hit subscribe so there's a TVA episode waiting for you 187 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 3: every morning. We'll be back again tomorrow. Until then, have 188 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 3: a great day.