Government introduces protections for migrant workers

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Federal Government has quietly introduced a new Visa for migrant workers. The Visa is the result of years of lobbying by advocates for workers from overseas, who say they are vulnerable to exploitation.

Transcript

00:00This new visa that came into effect last Wednesday is specifically designed for migrant workers

00:08who have no other way to stay in the country and fight cases of exploitation or wage theft

00:16or other issues they've had with their employers.

00:19This visa can be granted for between 6 to 12 months and it can be recurring, but you

00:25need the support of a higher level migration lawyer or of that ilk to get this visa applied

00:32for and granted.

00:34I sat down with one of those lawyers, Sanmati Verma from the Human Rights Law Centre, who

00:40has been lobbying for these sorts of visas for a very long time.

00:44She has explained to me exactly what has just been granted and allowed by the Federal Government

00:49as part of a two year trial.

00:52First is a guarantee against visa cancellation for exploited workers, so a boss can't turn

00:56around and simply threaten to report you to immigration if you stand up to him.

01:00And secondly, a visa to allow you to remain in Australia if you take action against your

01:04employer.

01:05So these are what we've been pushing for and they're protections that have been announced.

01:09So advocates like Sanmati Verma there have for long argued that Australia's migration

01:14system essentially tethers migrant workers to their employers and that is because to

01:20get a 457 visa, which allows you to stay in the country for several years and is a

01:25path to permanency in our country, that is tethered to your employer.

01:30And that, migrant advocates say, silences them from speaking up around things like wage

01:36theft, underpayment, overwork and many other issues.

01:40In fact, Sanmati Verma, since those visas were just announced, she told me this quite

01:46shocking story of a woman who has been raising allegations of sexual harassment and stalking

01:52against her former boss and company.

01:55She had no visa to allow her to stay in the country and was at the stage of selling her

01:58fridge to leave in just a few weeks' time.

02:01And it is only because of those visa protections announced there that this woman may now be

02:05able to stay in the country and fight that case.

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