Migrant workers have been exploited in Australia for too long. And part of that is because your ability to stay in Australia has been tied to your employment. So if your boss was treating you terribly and you complained they could just fire you and you could be forced to leave the country, with little hope of securing access to the Australian justice system.
Migrant workers have long advocated for a solution to this plainly unjust situation - and now they have won!
As of July 2024, the Federal Government has introduced a Workplace Justice Visa. That means if you are a migrant worker who is mistreated at work and you need to make a complaint against your boss, you can apply for a special visa that gives you up to 12 months to stay in the country to take your boss to court. You also have full work rights during that time to continue supporting yourself.
This is an astonishing victory, won by the migrant workers who have campaigned so hard in solidarity. In particular we congratulate all the workers that have come together through the Migrant Workers Center.
More about the Workplace Justice Visa
Why the Workplace Justice Visa matters
Every worker in Australia - no matter what work you do, what language you speak, or how long you've been here - should benefit from the wages and conditions that generations of workers in Australia have won together.
But too many dodgy bosses have exploited loopholes and structural injustices to pay migrant workers terribly and force them into appalling work situations. We've seen countless examples of wage theft, physical abuse, sexual violence and exploitation of workers - who have been trapped and disempowered by unfair visa conditions. Despite these hurdles, thousands of brave workers have come together and organised resistance through their unions.
While bosses can exploit any of us, none of our workplace rights and conditions are guaranteed. Workers in Australia can't possibly make ends meet if companies can get away with paying any of us poverty wages.
These dodgy bosses have tried to avoid scrutiny by telling local workers that they should blame migrant workers for "stealing" their jobs (while the bosses were the ones making the decision to exploit migrants). Politicians got in on the scam - attempting to get elected on a platform of hate and division. But overwhelmingly, local workers are seeing through these lies and standing with our fellow workers for better conditions for everyone. We know that in a race to the bottom we all lose - so we'll proudly stand up for the wages and decent treatment we all deserve.
Whether a worker is here in Australia permanently or for a season, we demand dignity in our work and fair compensation for all of us - no exceptions. Only when every worker in Australia can fight injustice at work will we win the changes we need for all of us.