Labour trafficking in Australia

Industries such as agriculture, construction, hospitality, manufacturing, and nursing are frequently mentioned in the context of labour trafficking in Australia.  What these industries have in common is that they are dependent on foreign workers as they often involve types of labour that Australians are unwilling to perform and positions that cannot be filled by the local labour market.  The available information is by no means conclusive but highlights the vulnerability of foreign workers and provides examples of conduct that may be indicative of trafficking.

Agriculture

There have been long-standing allegations that a significant number of workers in Australia’s agricultural industry are thought to be working illegally.  The seasonal nature of the work, whereby workers often move between properties depending on the crops to be picked or processed, coupled with the remote locations of the properties, are factors which contribute to the potential for exploitation in this industry.  Instances of underpayment, poor accommodation, the use of threats and violence, as well as instances of sexual assault have been cited in the literature.[11]

These allegations were substantiated in 2015, as widespread underpayment and exploitation of seasonal workers in the Australian agricultural sector was exposed.[12] Initial media reporting alleged that various labour hire companies profited by skimming the wages of employees, some of whom were later abused in retaliation for making complaints.[13]  A federal Inquiry into the Seasonal Worker Programme received submissions emphasising the need to reform and regulate the Working Holiday Visa programme.[14]  Expert commentary suggests that these types of visas have too few regulations in terms of monitoring compliance with domestic labour law and working conditions, leaving workers more vulnerable to exploitation.[15]

Construction

The construction industry has seen some rather extreme instances of exploitation that could fall within the bounds of labour trafficking.  A very severe case involves a group of five men from the Cook Islands who were recruited and brought to Sydney to work.  The men worked under an indentured labour-style agreement that lasted for two years.  One of the men was subjected to extreme physical abuse by the employer over the 18 months he worked for him.  At one stage, he was assaulted with a claw hammer, breaking his jaw and leaving him permanently blind in his right eye.  The victim also had his passport confiscated by his employer, endured long working hours and was severely underpaid, receiving no more than AUD 50 a month.  The employer was later convicted for inflicting grievous bodily harm and convicted to two years imprisonment.  He was also ordered to pay AUD 136,018 to the victim and a further AUD 66,049 to another worker.[16]

In the 2011 caseof Fair Work Ombudsman v Kentwood Industries Pty Ltd, five construction workers were recruited from China and brought to Perth on sponsored visas.  Their employer demanded that each man pay between RMB 2,500–15,000 (approximately AUD 400–2,400) to be sponsored.  When the men arrived in Australia they were paid less than AUD 3.00/hour and were required to work long hours.  One of the workers was not paid for the first five months of his employment, another not for the first three months.  The Federal Court later ordered the company to pay more than AUD 450,000 in wages and fines.[17]

Hospitality and retail services

Apart from the prosecutions mentioned above, there are several other examples from the hospitality industry that could potentially amount to instances of labour trafficking.  One example relates to exploitation of a group of eight chefs from the Philippines.[18]  One of them had paid a recruiter to organise visas for him and his wife to work in Australia.  While the recruiter promised a salary of AUD 39,100 per annum, the contract fixed his wage at only AUD 29,182.  The couple was also deceived about other aspects of their work: both were sent to Canberra instead of Sydney, they were made to work as kitchen-hands, not chefs, and forced to work a minimum of 60 hours a week.  After making a complaint to the Department of Immigration, the man had his passport confiscated and was kidnapped by his employer with the intention of forcibly deporting him.  It was also alleged that some of the other chefs were sold by their employer to other restaurants for amounts ranging from AUD 8,000 to 12,000.  A subsequent investigation resulted in a prosecution by the Office of Workplace Services with significant fines imposed on the company and an order that compensation be paid to some of the workers.[19]

A string of decisions by the Migration Review Tribunal provides further examples of exploitation in the hospitality industry, involving instances of poor working conditions, poor accommodation, overworking, low or lack of pay, refused access to personal belongings as well as harassment and physical abuse committed against foreign workers.[20]

Certain companies within the retail industry have faced similar scrutiny regarding their treatment of foreign workers. In 2015, the convenience store franchise 7-Eleven was alleged to have systematically underpaid employees residing in Australia on student visas.[21] 7-Eleven employees made submissions to a subsequent Senate Inquiry that they had been paid for half the hours that they had performed and at a rate well below minimum wage.[22]  Due to the low rate of pay, employees also ften worked in excess of the maximum hours allowed under the terms of their visas.  It is alleged that this fact was used as leverage by franchise owners to discourage employees from reporting their underpayment.[23] These allegations have also called attention to 7-Eleven’s business model, with some experts suggesting that the exploitation of workers is made more likely by the slim profit margins built into franchise agreements.[24]

Manufacturing

Among the reports and proceedings relating to exploitation of manufacturing workers in Australia is a case involving a group of 40 welders from the Philippines.  Each of them paid AUD 3,000 to a Filipino recruitment agency to find them work with an Australian company.  The welders were told at the time they would earn more than AUD 40,000 a year when, in fact, they later earned only about AUD 27,000.  The workers were also overcharged for their accommodation and their employer threatened them with termination and deportation.[25] 

A similar case involving 20 Korean workers who were brought to Western Australia by a labour hire firm and substantially underpaid was reported by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union in 2006.[26]  In another case, an Australian printing company recruited and sponsored the visa of four Chinese to work temporarily in Australia.  Over a period of 12 months the men worked ‘extraordinarily long hours’, were accommodated in poor housing, and underpaid by a total of more than AUD 93,600.  A court later imposed a penalty of over AUD 9,000 on the company director.[27]

Nursing

Several reports allude to the exploitation of foreign nurses in Australia.  One instance saw the exploitation of six Indian nurses who were brought to Australia by a migration agent in 2005. Once they arrived, their recruitment agent told them that they had to pay an additional AUD 27,000 to stay in the country as well as AUD 1,000 per month after their placement.  The nurses were also paid below award wages, and their families in India were threatened.[28] 

In 2007, government authorities investigated a national nursing agency for exploiting up to 30 Chinese nurses.  The agency recruited the nurses to work up to 50 hours a week whilst paying them a flat weekly rate of AUD 300.  It appears that the women came to Australia with the understanding they would receive training through clinical placements, and were granted Occupational Trainee (subclass 442) visas, which allow workplace-based training in Australia on a temporary basis.  It turned out, however, that the nurses had to work ordinary shifts and were constantly threatened by the agency that the sponsorship of their visa would be cancelled.[29] 

Two other cases involve nurses recruited from the Philippines.  In a 2008 case, three nurses had their wages withheld and endured a ‘succession of false promises and threats’, which, in the eyes of the court, amounted to a ‘conscious exploitation of [the] three very vulnerable workers’.[30]  In the other case, 10 women came to Australia in the belief the would work as nurses but were forced to work as cleaners, were not allowed to leave the house where they were accommodated, and received no pay for their labour.[31]