Special Rapporteur For Migrants in Australia

Visit of UN Human Rights Expert

The UN Special Rapporteur for Migrants is Mr François Crépeau. Special Rapporteurs are independent from any government or organization. Their role is to make fact finding visits to countries to investigate human rights compliance for various themes. Mr Crépeau visited Australia 1-18 November “to assess, in a spirit of cooperation and dialogue, the situation of migrants and asylum seekers.”

In his end of mission statement Mr Crépeau commented on the exploitation of migrant workers in Australia. While welcoming the various types of visa options for migrants to work in Australia he expressed concern in finding out about “the exploitation of migrants on working holiday visas, as well as of asylum seekers on bridging visas, by employers in Australia, as migrants in general refrain from reporting, protesting and mobilising due to their fear of seeing their visa cancelled, being held in immigration detention, or deported. They are made to work long hours and paid wages that are below the minimum wage in Australia, often in the construction, agricultural and hospitality industries. Temporary work visas may therefore increase the vulnerability of migrant workers. Competent oversight mechanisms, including the Fair Work Ombudsman, need to be better deployed and funded to combat such exploitation.” (Photo: www.un.org) Read more…