Pacific Workers Struggle with Housing Challenges and Hesitate to Seek Medical Care

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Migrant workers in Australia who suffer serious injuries like losing limbs or vision are afraid of being sent back to their home countries if they go to a doctor, according to a modern slavery inquiry.

According to lawyer Joshua Strutt, workers on the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) program face heightened risks due to strict visa rules that prevent switching jobs.

Strutt, who heads the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre, remarked that “PALM visa holders are among the most exploited temporary visa holders in Australia.”

The PALM program provides opportunities for eligible Australian businesses to employ individuals from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste, mostly for roles in agriculture and meat processing.

Some PALM workers who have suffered significant injuries are fearful of seeking medical help, as reported by a legal aid service.

“There’s this really huge power imbalance that exists through this system that needs to be fixed,” Strutt told the inquiry in Sydney on Monday.

An inquiry in New South Wales is looking into modern slavery in rural areas, focusing on forced labor, violence, sexual exploitation, and wage issues.

Woolworths attests to ‘appalling’ conditions

Supermarket giant Woolworths took on a labour hire company after being told migrant workers in its Queensland supply chain were living in poor conditions.

“We did a site inspection and the housing conditions were indeed appalling and unliveable,” Woolworths group’s human rights general manager Rachel Elliott said.

“The workers had raised this with the labour hire provider to no avail.”

An unnamed labor hire firm was removed from migrant worker programs, but reports suggest the company has tried to start operations in other regions, according to testimony.

'It broke us, the whole feeling of shame, anger, despair': Modern slavery survivor image

Woolworths conducts 1,000 workplace audits in its supply chain each year, revealing about 5,000 incidents of non-compliance that range from fire safety issues to underpayment.

The underpayments were often the result of labour hire companies failing to pass on entitlements to workers, Elliott said.

After audits in NSW over the last two years, Woolworths has worked with suppliers to repay $50,000 in the meat industry and $48,000 in horticulture.

‘A visceral fear of speaking up’

Overcrowded accommodation was another pressing issue, with regular reports of 10 people living in one house and paying $170 per bed, Australian Workers’ Union organiser Jonathan Cook told the inquiry.

“It is a clear and obvious exploitation of farm workers,” Cook said.

Several agricultural industry bodies cited an independent survey conducted by the Australian National University and the World Bank that found 98 per cent of PALM workers would recommend the scheme to others.

But workers were not in a position of power to be open about their conditions, Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association industrial officer Bernard Govind said.

“We know migrant workers … have a visceral fear of speaking up against workplace exploitation for fear of visa cancellation and deportation.”