Login / Join
Immigration Daily News Could a simple warning from DIBP save foreign students from abuse?
- Font size: Larger Smaller
- Hits: 3508
- 3 Comments
Could a simple warning from DIBP save foreign students from abuse?
Fairfax media has claimed to have uncovered a widespread abuse of student visa holders by employers who are paying them as little as $8 per hour, an amount which is less than half the minimum wage of $16.87 an hour.
Foreign students, who have to quickly settle down to focus on their studies as well get some paid work with a limited skill set to cover high rents, are undoubtedly a desperate lot who are falling victim to unscrupulous employers.
Try asking a foreign student waiter what the minimum wage is in Australia. Chances are they would be clueless and some may even think $8 per hour is generous compared to countries living below the poverty line.
It has to make you wonder how well these sons and daughters are protected from other workplace abuses and injuries. Most are probably fearful of reporting it due to DIBPs tough stance on visa work conditions and some students are perhaps just unaware of their rights in the workplace.
According to The Age, in January 2013, Fairfax Media uncovered “a disturbing number of restaurants across Sydney that grossly underpaid staff and flouted regulations. The 40-odd premises paid workers as little as $8 an hour.
“Now, almost exactly two years later, Fairfax has again uncovered claims of foreign workers being ripped off. The latest group of students claim are still only getting paid $8 per hour, below the minimum wage of $16.87 an hour,” states the report.
In the last financial year, the Fair Work Ombudsman, recovered $1.1 million in underpaid wages and entitlements for approximately 700 visa-holders. This could very well only be the tip of the iceberg. As at 30 September 2014 there were 387,799 international student visa holders in Australia.
Currently, DIBP provides some generic information on work rights in Australia in the student visa grant letters. Perhaps an outright statement specifically highlighting the current minimum wage figure could be a start in creating an awareness among students of what is a fair wage.
More importantly, however a coordinated multi-agency effort is required by government, unions, and education providers to investigate injustices faced by foreign students. The exploitation of foreign students by some employers is not only an international embarrassment but is also detrimental to one the key contributors to the Australian economy, notes The Age. International education is Australia's third biggest export earner, second only to the sale of natural resources of iron ore, coal and natural gas. It is worth $16 billion per year to the country.
The Migration Alliance encourages foreign students to tell us your stories here on this blog. Feel free to use it as a platform to raise awareness of your plight as the editorial in The Age has done: “If we can't treat our fee-paying guests with care and respect, we must question what our values as Australians are.”
Comments
-
Thursday, 22 January 2015Under the current system, students are supposed to have the financial means to live and study in Australia before they get their visa. Working here is a benefit afforded them, so they shouldn't be able to complain that not getting work is making it hard to pay the bills once they get here.
But regardless of this, of course exploitation of students is unacceptable in any circumstance (eg. the above-mentioned case) and the idea of them not reporting workplace incidents/injuries due to fear of their visa being cancelled is frightening. Your statement that they are informed of their specific rights when they get their visa granted, or a link to such info, could be an excellent suggestion. -
Thursday, 22 January 2015
things will only change for the better if the OS students boycott Australia and go to other more welcoming countries. The Australian bureaucrats and employers only understand the language of the $. Hit them in the pocket and I guarantee there will be the necessary change.
Immigration blog
When I first came to Aus, I was out looking for a job. One of the major petrol station chains which operates in Sydney and Canberra called 7-eleven offered me employment. The catch was that I had to work one month for free under the banner of training and if the employer felt I was good enough to be hired after the initial month, he would pay me 10 dollars an hour, cash in hand. Most people get told off after the initial month, earning the employer huge profits I would assume. A lot of businesses/convenient stores in Canberra CBD area operate under the same model.
International students are happy to work for these wages as it is difficult to find jobs. Australian employers generally give preference to locals when hiring, not to mention the ridiculous Permanent Residency requirements you get to see under every other job listing. To make things worse food chains such as Nandos and KFC are only willing to hire people under the age of 18 (preferably younger) to keep costs low (at least in Canberra). University Students desperate to cover the ever increasing rent costs are therefore forced implicitly into accepting these jobs as they are easier to get. A case of high supply and low demand. The level of reform needed would be immense if things were to change.