Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the Fair Work Ombudsman's (FWO's) report Inquiry into the wages and conditions of people working under the 417 Working Holiday Visa Program (October 2016) found that more than one third of 417 visa holders claimed that they were paid less than the minimum wage;

(b) the inquiry found that the 417 visa program created an environment where unreasonable and unlawful requirements are being imposed on visa holders by unscrupulous businesses;

(c) the FWO, Ms Natalie James, said in a statement that the inquiry confirms that overseas workers seeking regional work to satisfy the 88 day requirement and obtain a second-year 417 visa are particularly vulnerable to exploitation;

(2) acknowledges:

(a) that in 2015-16, 76 per cent of litigations filed by the FWO involved visa holder workers;

(b) that the inquiry found instances of employers engaging in sophisticated labour supply chains involving sham contracting, where workers were in fact employees, to exploit vulnerable 417 visa holders to gain a competitive or commercial advantage through the reduction of labour costs; and

(c) findings from the inquiry found that the 417 visa program has been used to source an unpaid workforce, thus facilitating an unfair commercial advantage to these employers, distorting the market place and placing pressure on the domestic employment market;

(3) expresses its disappointment in the Government for announcing yet another taskforce, the Migrant Workers Taskforce, to look at the issue of worker exploitation, while there is still no legislation that has been presented to the Parliament that will change the law to protect exploited workers; and

(4) calls on the Government to join the Opposition in preventing workers from being exploited by supporting its legislation before the Parliament, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Australian Workers) Bill 2016.

A few weeks ago, in October, the Fair Work Ombudsman handed down another damning report into the misuse and abuse of 417 visa holiday workers here in this country, typically known to all of us as backpackers. Whilst the government continues to twist itself in knots around backpackers and the backpacker tax, what they are not doing is addressing a number of the claims and findings that have been recommended by this Fair Work Ombudsman report.

It found that a third of 417 visa holders that it surveyed were not being paid their proper entitlements; in fact, they were being paid less than the minimum wage. It also found that a number of workers were forced to pay for their second engagement, commonly known as the '88-day requirement', to obtain their second year of work rights. The report also found that not only had some of the workers had to pay for this engagement but they actually had to hand money back. The report also found that backpackers were quite often housed in unacceptable conditions, with up to 10 people in a room, they were billed ridiculous amounts for their board and were left feeling very isolated and lonely.

This report that was released by the Fair Work Ombudsman cannot be ignored by this government. They continue to ignore report after report from the Fair Work Ombudsman, and it is time that they started to act. It is time that they started to crack down on the labour supply chains involving sham contracting. It is time that they stopped the exploitation of vulnerable backpackers here in our country, who are essentially here as guest workers.

The backpacker visa was originally designed as a cultural exchange. It encouraged young people from overseas to come to this country, to travel and to work. Equally, Australians have done the same overseas. But more recently, in the last five years the visa has become a backdoor way for employers to engage cheap labour. I know those opposite like to smirk, but you cannot smirk about the fact that a third of young backpackers employed on this visa are being underpaid. They are being exploited by unscrupulous employers and by labour hire companies.

Just some local examples: in my own electorate of Bendigo, DON KR, rather than hiring young university students or young people in our community, have engaged a labour hire firm that employs backpackers from Taiwan. These workers, when we have spoken to them directly, are not being paid the minimum rates. DON KR says that they are looking into the fact. But even if they were to be paid the award rates, they are still undercutting the collective agreement that exists in that workplace by at least $4 an hour. It is unfair that local workers are missing out to backpackers.

There is also a problem not just in the meatworks and not just in horticulture but also in construction. There is a problem even in industries like social work. One case that was brought up was that, in the state of New South Wales, there are Irish backpackers working as social workers to some of the most vulnerable children that we have in our country. They are a not-for-profit that has a contract from the New South Wales government, that has engaged backpackers to be social workers to support children who are in the foster care system. It is just disgraceful that we are living in a situation where, to fill labour shortages, a visa that was intended for a cultural exchange is being used. These backpackers are not aware of their rights and, because of that, are not being treated with the respect or paid the wages that they are entitled to.

The other problem with the backpacker visa, which the government is choosing to ignore, is that one in five backpackers walk onto a farm. They like to pretend that backpackers only serve the bush, when they do not. Four out of five backpackers will never set foot onto a farm, meaning that four out of five backpackers are directly in conflict and directly in competition with young Australian workers. Given the fact that a third of them are being underpaid, they are directly putting pressure on our local jobs market. I call on the government again to do something about the endemic problem that we have in our community with the exploitation of guest workers. It is time the government supported Labor's proposals to protect workers, to make sure that any worker here in this country is paid properly and treated with respect.

See this speech in context