A new report from the Migrant Justice Institute (MJI), called Off the Books, has found that many migrant workers in Australia are being paid far less than they are legally owed. The findings come from a large survey of nearly 10,000 people who worked in Australia on temporary visas, including international students, backpackers and skilled workers.
The report found that two out of every three migrant workers were paid less than what they were entitled to under Australian law, and more than a third were paid below the legal minimum wage. International students alone are thought to be short-changed by around $61 million every week, adding up to more than $3 billion a year.
A big part of the problem is job insecurity. Nearly three-quarters of migrants surveyed were working as casual employees or as independent contractors (on an ABN), rather than in stable, permanent jobs. Many of these workers were likely misclassified, meaning they were actually employees but were being treated as contractors so they could be paid less and denied basic rights like minimum wage and leave.
The report also found that underpayment rarely happens on its own. Workers who were underpaid were also far more likely to be paid in cash, given no payslip or a misleading one, denied superannuation, or have money wrongly taken out of their pay. This suggests many employers are deliberately using a combination of tactics to hide how little they’re actually paying their workers.
International students face an extra challenge: because their visa only allows them to work 48 hours per fortnight, many said this pushed them into taking cash-in-hand jobs just to cover rent and living costs, leaving them more vulnerable to exploitation.
On a more positive note, workers who were union members were much less likely to be underpaid or stuck in insecure jobs though only a small number of migrants surveyed (7%) were actually union members.
To fix these problems, the report makes 16 recommendations to the government, including:
- Making it easier for workers to prove they’ve been wrongly classified as contractors
- Making a pilot visa protection for workers who report abuse permanent and available to everyone, not just a select few
- Setting up more support services for migrant workers in every state and territory
- Stopping businesses with a history of underpaying workers from sponsoring new migrant staff
- Introducing a licensing system for labour hire companies
- Creating an easier, faster way for workers to claim unpaid wages through the courts
- Looking at raising the 48-hour work limit for international students
- Making sure all visa holders are properly informed about their workplace rights
The report’s authors say that while the government has made some positive changes in recent years, much more needs to be done to stop dishonest employers from taking advantage of migrant workers.
Click here: Migrant Justice Institute
