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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/05/jail-terms-for-exploiting-migrant-workers-to-be-introduced-in-australian-government-crackdown>
"Australian employers who exploit migrant workers will be banned from hiring
other visa holders and will face new criminal penalties, as part of a
government crackdown.
On Monday the federal government will announce legal changes to tackle what it
calls “a crisis of exploitation with up to one in six recent migrants paid less
than the minimum wage”.
The changes, to be introduced to parliament within weeks, will include making
it a criminal offence to coerce someone into breaching their visa condition.
This offence will attract a penalty of up to two years in prison.
The government will also use new prohibition notices to “stop employers from
further hiring people on temporary visas where they have exploited migrants”.
In addition to tripling some existing financial penalties, the government will
give temporary visa holders who are sponsored by an employer much longer to
find a new job. This aims to ease the pressure exploited workers face to stay
in poor conditions.
The survey found many migrants experienced discrimination in job application
processes because of their visa status.
Some visas currently allow a gap of only 60 or 90 days between employer
sponsors. The new gap of 180 days aims to make it easier for sponsored migrants
to move between employers.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said that over the past 10 years the
migration system had “drifted deeper and deeper into reliance on low-paid
temporary migrant workers who we know are routinely exploited”.
The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, said the planned reforms would help
workers speak up and target employers who did the wrong thing."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
