Exploitation in the Hunter Region
An NBN News report has shone a light on the research undertaken by ACRATH and the University of Newcastle. The research, Vulnerable Migrant Workers in the Hunter Region concluded Wage Theft is a main issue for vulnerable migrant workers in the Hunter region. Wage theft is noted across service and care industries, including hospitality, technical work, childcare, manufacturing, commercial cleaning, and agricultural work.
Recommendations from the report include the following:
- Worker awareness: education campaigns in worker languages and comprehensible to the workers
- Political engagement: harnessing windows of political will to address vulnerability and exploitation of migrant workers
- Media scrutiny: amplification of issues through the media
- Regulation of labour hire companies: a national labour hire licensing scheme
- Supply chain scrutiny: harnessing scrutiny of supply chains through major corporations such as supermarkets
- Immigration: visas that provide stability and certainty
