Media Release
Today’s announcement by the Albanese government acknowledges what many migrant workers have known all along: there must be greater protections for migrant workers experiencing exploitation. The announcement today recognises that changes are needed but there is still no practical mechanism in place that protects migrant workers from having their visas cancelled if they speak out against exploitation.
Democracy in Colour National Director, Neha Madhok said “While the changes announced today are a step in the right direction, they do nothing to address the core issue that enables the discrimination and exploitation of migrant workers. Most migrants who find themselves in discriminatory or exploitative conditions say nothing because they fear risking their visa status and employability.
“The real issue is that migrant workers aren’t protected if they speak out against their employers for exploitation or discrimination. The Government must ensure that protections against visa cancellations are included in migration reforms.
“It’s time to acknowledge the gross power imbalance that exists between migrant workers and employers who control whether a migrant is allowed to stay in the country or not by controlling their visa status. Employers know they can continue practices like wage theft and breaching fair work laws because the visa statuses of migrant workers are not protected or secure.
“The Government must provide migrant workers with visa security that allows them to advocate for their rights without risking their income, employability, and right to work and stay in the country.
“Temporary migrants already face discrimination and significant barriers finding and maintaining work in the first place. Today’s announcement acknowledges that employers have used the broken migration system to continue exploiting migrant workers. It’s time to centre the rights of migrant workers themselves in any future reforms, and ensure that they are protected if they rightfully call out workplace exploitation and discrimination.
“Australia’s economy continues to rely on the work of migrants, international students, and others on temporary visas, yet migrants aren’t afforded the same protections as all Australians. The Government must ensure that all reforms to the migration system truly protects migrant workers and treats everyone in Australia with dignity” said Neha Madhok.
The Migration with Dignity campaign calls for clearer pathways to permanent migration, ending corporate ties to temporary migration sponsorship and allowing working migrants access to public services including Medicare.
Government says that the announcement includes firewall and whistleblower protections:
Firewall and whistleblower protections are a fantastic step in the right direction. However, we need to make sure that people aren’t just being moved onto short term bridging visas but that there are protections in place for them to maintain their current visas if they put up a claim about exploitation.
Australians have fought hard for a fair workplace system but what’s fair about people who live and work in our community not having the same rights as the people they work alongside every day? Everyone who works in Australia should have the same rights as their colleagues – no matter what visa they’re on.
While the future process will be co-designed, we need to ensure that migrant workers are front and centre in that process and that grassroots migrant workers have been part of this design process. In the meantime while this is taking place, there needs to be protections and systems in place for people who are impacted right now. The last thing we want to see are people on temporary visas being pushed on to endless short term bridging visas – all that does is kick the can down the road.
We need immediate protections for those who remain vulnerable while a new process is being designed, because migrant worker exploitation is rampant and that is why we need explicit protections to stop employers from targeting migrant workers immediately.