This is the ultimate Consevative model for Aussie workers.
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Otherwise known as Work
Choices.... 4 dollars an hour and eating out of bins.
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A Taiwanese foreign worker says she was exposed to such horrific rates of underpayment on an Australian farm she was forced to eat from public rubbish bins just to survive.
Kate Hsu said she was paid just $4 an hour picking oranges on a South Australian farm as the disturbing rates of wage theft and exploitation were revealed in a new report.
The study found an alarming majority of fruit and vegetable pickers in Australia were victims of wage theft, with nearly 80 per cent of 1300 horticulture industry workers reporting experiences of underpayment.
The survey, conducted by Unions NSW and the Migrant Workers Centre in Victoria, was the latest to expose the inhumane treatment of the workforce, which was accused of systematically exploiting vulnerable overseas workers on temporary visas.
Ms Hsu told the NCA NewsWire she was a victim of the payment structure known as âpiece rateâ, where a worker was paid by the quantity of fruit or vegetables they picked during a shift.
âI was paid, at the lowest, $4 per hour,â she said through an interpreter about her experience picking fruit in Renmark, SA.
âI went dumpster diving to find food in recycle bins at supermarkets when I didnât have enough money.â
Kate Hsu said she was paid as low as $4 per hour to pick fruit. Picture: Supplied
Kate Hsu said she was paid as low as $4 per hour to pick fruit. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
Unfortunately, Kateâs story is too common, according to the survey, which found the majority of piece rate workers were underpaid with some receiving as little as $1 an hour and only 2 per cent paid a legitimate rate of $26 an hour.
The lowest daily wages were reported by piece rate workers employed on grape and zucchini farms, earning on average $9 per day, followed by blueberry farm workers who averaged $10 per day.
Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey said wage theft in the agriculture sector âis just a business modelâ, where âmigrant workers are consistently underpaid well below the minimum rateâ.
He said the horrific treatment went beyond underpayment, with many overseas workers left vulnerable as their employees had the power to influence their visa status.
âSexually harassed, physically assaulted, often threatened with âwell if you donât like it, you can goâ,â Mr Morey told NCA NewsWire.
âMany of these workers are out there for 88 days to try and extend their visa for a second year, so theyâre basically kept out there. Weâre basically sending young people out there to be exploited but thereâs no ability to then complain about it.â
Kate picked oranges in Renmark, SA.
Kate picked oranges in Renmark, SA.Source:Supplied
Migrant Workers Centre director Matt Kunkel said the survey proved workers were starved of earning a living wage.
âFarm managers are engaging in rampant wage theft and outright abuse,â he said.
âMany are also responsible for injuries sustained by workers, along with discrimination, bullying, sexual assault and harassment.
âThis is a shameful, inhumane and blatantly racist way to treat migrant farm workers on whom we depend for so much of our food â and who pay their taxes in this country.
âWe are demanding the federal government undertake a range of urgent measures to address this catastrophic situation.â
Mr Morey said he was frustrated by the common narrative shared by commentators and politicians who implied unemployed Australians were lazy and should go to the regions to pick fruit.
âPeople who have been out there tell their friends and families whatâs happened to them â you work hard all day in a 9-12 hour shift not making the minimum rate of pay, youâve been exploited, youâve been abused or assaulted,â he said.
âAll these stories come through so why would you go and do a job where you know you are going to get underpaid?â
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https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-...a539c48518
