Reports today that Pacific Island workers are earning just over $9 an hour working at an abattoir under the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) are just the latest example of worker exploitation by labour hire companies under this program.
Workers at a Victorian abattoir are being left with $310 from their weekly pay of $753 after deductions to cover airfares, visas, phone plans, housing and furniture rentals.
Labour hire companies are responsible for the contract and arrangements made with the PLS workers.
Working for around $9 an hour is obviously completely unacceptable.
The Morrison-Joyce Government claims that all workers under the PLS have the same rights and protections as Australian workers.
That’s quite clearly not the case here.
Labor has long been urging the Morrison-Joyce Government to address worker exploitation issues under this program but our calls have fallen on deaf ears.
Not only have they ignored this problem, their new agricultural visa may make it even worse.
The Government needs to strengthen worker protections under Pacific labour mobility programs rather than weakening employment standards and potentially undermining the Pacific programs with its planned agriculture visa.
The Pacific Labour Scheme is a crucial element of Australia’s Pacific Step Up policy and an important way to support the Pacific Island region’s economic development.
Continued stories of worker exploitation damage our country’s reputation and ability to be the region’s partner of choice at a time when our relationship has never been more important.
It’s devastating for these workers who have come to Australia to financially support their families back home and boost the Pacific’s economy. It also undermines the credibility of the PLS in Pacific countries.
The Morrison-Joyce Government cannot sit back and allow this exploitation to continue.