The New South Wales government has unveiled the state's first Migrant Workers Centre to support temporary visa holders. It means migrant workers in Sydney now have a dedicated hub to seek help over work exploitation. It’s backed by $6.5 million in state funding over the next four years to provide workplace, safety and immigration support to vulnerable migrants across the state.
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TRANSCRIPT:
At 23, Samuel Zuluaga left his home in Colombia for Sydney to begin a new life.
A barber shop offered to sponsor him with a temporary work visa, and at first, he felt lucky about it.
But gradually, things began to change.
"After about a year I noticed my employer had stopped playing my superannuation. At that time, I didn't fully understand What that meant. I told myself: it might be a mistake."
Samuel says he was reluctant to speak up about these issues because he was on a visa.
He didn't know if saying something could put his future in Australia at risk.
"One day, I complained when I was asked to clean the toilet, knowing that it wasn't my responsibility. My employer just said, you are fired, pack your stuff and go home. Just like that, I had lost my job and my visa sponsor."
Mr Zuluaga's employer also refused to pay for the annual leave that Mr Zuluaga didn't use, as he was scared that taking leaves could annoy his boss at that time.
Eventually, with the help of unions and services, Mr Zuluaga was paid.
"This made a real difference in my life, it wasn't just about the money. It changed of course my situation, and showed me that I wasn't alone."
A report released this month by the Migrant Justice Institute has pointed to the extent of the issues facing migrant workers.
It found nearly two-thirds of temporary visa holders were being underpaid, with international students alone estimated to be losing more than 60 million dollars in wages every week.
More than a third reported working under ABN or contractor arrangements.
But Unions New South Wales president Mark Morey says migrants are important to Australia.
"Our economy depends on them, and ensuring we have a workforce who are doing the jobs that we just don't have people to do. We know in farming communities, we know in retail, hospitality, construction, we are all short of skilled labour, we are all short of people who just want to start their first jobs in the economy, and we are not a big enough country, we are built on migration, we need these workers here."
Now, the dedicated support that Mr Zuluaga received is now available for all migrant workers across New South Wales.
The state has unveiled its first dedicated Migrant Workers Centre in the Sydney CBD to support those who have experienced underpayment, unsafe conditions and outright exploitation.
There will also be outreach centres in regional New South Wales to ensure the services could be reached by those in non-urban communities.
The centre is expected to support 2,000 at-risk workers per year through culturally sensitive, community-connected support, backed by $6.5 million in funding that New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says will be stretched over four years.
"We want every migrant worker to know, that if you are feeling pressured at work, if you've been forced to work for less than a minimum wage, if something doesn't feel right, then you can come to the migrant worker centre. They will explain your rights, help you through the system, and make sure that you get everything that you are legally entitled to."
The newly launched service has been welcomed by members of multicultural communities.
Ubah Gabris is the president of Somali Council New South Wales.
"You don't know your right, you don't what you actually have, if you have been taken advantage of. So what I love about this kind of space, people can actually come and talk about what they don't do, and they receive advice, especially legal help or legal support."
