Redfern Legal Centre (RLC) has welcomed the government’s proposal to criminalise wage theft, but says more needs to be done to address endemic levels of workplace exploitation affecting migrant workers.
In a submission made to the Attorney-General’s Department released today on www.rlc.org.au, RLC makes 20 recommendations to tackle the underlying workplace culture which is exploiting migrant workers.
“Wage theft has become big business. When employees are subject to work restrictions on their visa or reliant on their employer to help them get permanent residency, it’s a recipe for exploitation,” solicitor and head of RLC’s employment law service, Sharmilla Bargon said.
“There are many barriers for a person on a temporary visa to start legal action and we are worried that criminal penalties for wage theft won’t help those that most need it to recover their entitlements.
“It’s hard for citizens to bring a wage claim in court, but it is so much harder for migrants with limited English who don’t know their way around the Australian legal system. Many employees know they have a legal claim, but are scared to report any wrongdoings in fear of losing their visa and employers know this,” Ms Bargon said.
RLC is also part of the Migrant Employment Legal Service (MELS), a joint initiative with Marrickville Legal Centre, Inner City Legal Centre and Kingsford Legal Centre, newly created to address the culture of exploitation facing migrant workers across NSW.
MELS solicitor at RLC, Regina Featherstone said, “The MELS project aims to break down some of the access to justice barriers that affect migrant workers across NSW. Our service provides an important new avenue to address the exploitation of migrant workers. The time is up for employers stealing the wages of their employees to make profit.”
RLC’s submissions on the criminalisation of wage theft has been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Department. You can read the full submission here
RLC is available for free and confidential employment law advice on 02 9698 7277.
Migrant workers in NSW can also contact the Migrant Employment Legal Service (MELS) on 02 8002 1203.
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT:
Sharmilla Bargon, Redfern Legal Centre – 0424 397 221, sharmilla@rlc.org.au
Criminalising wage theft won’t make the problem go away for migrant workers
4 November 2019 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On 31 October 2019, RLC made a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department on ‘improving protections of employee’s wages and entitlements: strengthening penalties for non-compliance’.
Background
Earlier this year, the Migrant Workers’ Taskforce recommended that criminal sanctions be introduced for the ‘most serious forms of exploitative conduct’. Following these recommendations, the Government invited submissions on a range of issues, including whether the underpayment of employee wages should be criminalised.
Working for Change
My Legal Mate released at Macquari Uni
In October, RLC released our mobile legal assistance app for international students in NSW.
My Legal Mate was launched on campaus at Macquarie University, and over 400 students have already signed up.
Migrant Employment Legal Service launches
a new state-wide legal service is now available for migrant workers across New South Wales. The Inner City Legal Centre, Kingsford Legal Centre, Marrickville Legal Centre and Redfern Legal Centre have together established the service to address the employment exploitation of migrant workers.
Check-In for legal Advice
Earlier this year, RLC was selected as one of five particpants in the Allens Neota Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice. A team of UTS Law students were tasked with creating a way for international students to book legal appointments with RLC online, while also addressing the need to enhance legal appointments by cutting down the time spent gathering the relevant documentation during solicitor interviews.
The result wasd Check-In, which launched on RLC's website earlier this month.
RLC Submission on Religious Freedom reforms
On 2 October 2019, RLC made a submission to the Attorney-General on the proposed Religious Freedom reforms.
While RLC welcomes the introduction of federal protections against religious discrimination, it is our view that the reforms overwhelmingly and disproportionately favour religious bodies, health practitioners and individuals who make offensive public statements at the expense of protections for individuals from all types of discrimination.
News and events
Sexual assault resource honoured with NSW government award
Your Body, Your Choice, a groundbreaking sexual assault resource for international students, has been honoured with an award at the 2019 NSW International Student Awards.
International Education Providers Forum 2019
In September, RLC's international student solicitor Sean Stimson spoke on a panel at the 2019 International Student Forum, discussing the future of international education in Sydney.
Read the full October e-Bulletin here
Our October e-Bulletin highlights exciting innovations and partnerships that are making it easier for international students and other migrant workers to access legal support.
Migrant Employment Legal Service launches at St George Migrant Information Day
On Wednesday 6 November 2019 the Migrant Employment Legal Service (MELS) will launch at the St George Migrant Information Day. NSW Attorney-General, the Hon. Mark Speakman SC MP will be in attendance as guest speaker in support of the inauguration.
The Inner City Legal Centre, Kingsford Legal Centre, Marrickville Legal Centre and Redfern Legal Centre have together established the service to address the employment exploitation of migrant workers in NSW. MELS seeks to address the unique challenges faced by migrant workers through the provision of free legal advice, legal representation and engaging with communities to provide information and education.
“The Migrant Employment Legal Service is an exciting collaboration between four vibrant Sydney community legal centres,” says ICLC Centre Director Vicki Harding.
“These centres, with expertise in legal issues that might confront employees, know that there is significant need for employment legal assistance for the culturally and linguistically diverse communities in NSW. We are grateful to the NSW government for supporting the establishment of a service that will fill this gap.”
The team at MELS have already hit the ground running, meeting with culturally and linguistically diverse groups across the greater Sydney region to promote the free, confidential service.
MELS Project Coordinator Thina Balakisnan shares "[MELS] is a much-needed service and whilst we're still in the early days of promoting it, our interactions with various communities have been promising. Communities are very interested in learning and promoting employment rights - we're eager to see how this translates to reducing migrant worker exploitation."
Redfern Legal Centre’s employment law solicitor, Sharmilla Bargon, explains why migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to workplace exploitation.
“Unscrupulous businesses exploit migrants by offering work that is well below the legal rate of pay,” Ms Bargon said.
“This pressures migrant workers into breaching their visa conditions. We have seen certain visa holders forced into working over their legally-allowed limit of 40 hours per fortnight, just to survive. If the migrant worker complains, the employer threatens to ‘get them deported’. This creates a culture of silence around wage theft and other forms of exploitation.”
MELS and its four partnered community legal centres anticipate that the state-wide service will raise community awareness and become of great support to the public.
The launch of Migrant Employment Legal Service at St George Migrant Information Day is hosted by Advanced Diversity Services at Civic Theatre, Hurstville Entertainment Centre. For those interested to attend the free event on Wednesday 6 November from 10.15am to 11am, registration is recommended at the following link: https://events.humanitix.com.au/mels_launch
For legal advice appointments please contact 02 8002 1203.
For all media enquiries please contact Thina: thina@iclc.org.au
For immediate release - 30 October 2019
Earlier this month, the ATO’s deputy commissioner for superannuation and employer obligations, James O’Halloran, announced that they will be contacting 2,500 employers that had been identified as having paid some or all of their superannuation contributions late during 2018-19. Furthermore, they’ll be sending due-date reminders to an additional 4,000 employers.
As NSW's International student population continues to grow, Redfern Legal Centre has been looking at new ways of engaging the community, and innovations to reduce barriers to legal access.
In April, RLC was selected as one of five participants in the Allens Neota Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice.
A team of students from UTS were tasked with streamlining the intake process for students contacting RLC's International Student Legal Service NSW.
