The April edition of the Migrant Workers Centre newsletter includes updates about:

• Campaign launch: permanent visas for all workers who call Australia home
• Worker Story: ATO tries to recover JobKeeper payments from Migrant Workers
• Multicultural Safety Ambassador Information Sessions
• Migrant worker outreach during Ramadan
• Migrant Worker Solidarity Network at the May Day rally
• International Workers Memorial Day
• A Win for Gig Riders

Campaign launch: permanent visas for all workers who call Australia home

This month, migrant workers kicked off our campaign for permanent visas. Australia’s visa system is stacked against workers. Many find ourselves going from temporary visa to temporary visa with no hope of a stable future despite having lived and worked in the country for years. Meanwhile, exploitative employers are enabled to churn through a vulnerable temporary migrant workforce.

Migrant workers are calling on the Morrison government to:

• Create a pathway to residency for migrant workers: Make the newly proposed visa subclass 191 a pathway to permanent residency for migrant workers of all visa subclasses who have worked and made a home in Australia

• Break the exploitative system of workers depending on their employer for visas: Replace the employer-sponsorship system with a state-sponsored migration program that prioritises the needs of workers rather than employers. 

• Provide protections for workplace whistle-blowers: Establish a firewall between the Fair Work Ombudsman and the department of Home Affairs to ensure migrant workers who report wage theft don’t face visa cancellations or future visa penalties for breaches of visa-specific work conditions

  

Right now is an opportune moment for the campaign. Not only are there two Senate enquiries underway into our migration program, the Morrison government recently announced a new permanent residency visa (subclass 191) that will commence in 2022. Details of this visa are yet to be released and the coming months are a unique chance to ramp up the pressure on the Morrison government to ensure this new visa is accessible to all migrant workers.

This campaign was unanimously endorsed with enthusiasm at last month’s Migrant Worker Solidarity Network meeting. In the coming weeks - activists will be leading next steps of the campaign including writing letters and organising meetings with MPs. In the meantime, we’re collecting as many signatures as possible before Migrant Workers Centre activists deliver this petition to local Members of Parliament. Click here to sign the petition.

Worker Story: ATO tries to recover JobKeeper payments from Migrant Workers

Last year, the Morrison government cruelly locked temporary visa holders out of JobKeeper and JobSeeker. Not only did this move leave over a million workers without support during the peak of the pandemic, but we’re now hearing from workers on temporary visas who had their JobKeeper applications erroneously approved and are now being asked by the ATO to pay back their JobKeeper income. We know from the hideous experience of Robodebt what a serious psychological toll this can take on people already in a precarious work and living situation.

Hassan, who recently joined the Migrant Workers Centre as an organiser, is one such worker who was affected. Hassan explains:

“When the Government introduced the JobKeeper program in 2020, I was an Uber driver. I had no income because of the COVID restrictions. I asked my tax agent if I was eligible for the JobKeeper payment as a sole trader. He said yes, and he also contacted the ATO to double check. The person at the ATO who answered the phone said, ‘Just submit an application. We will review your application. If you are eligible, you will receive the payment. If you are not eligible, we will not pay you.’”

Hassan had friends who were international students and had their applications rejected, but Hassan’s was approved. He says, “I received the JobKeeper payment, but a few months later, the ATO sent me a letter saying that I was not eligible and now I had to repay $27,900.”

Hassan contested this repayment - as a parent without income during COVID-19, he couldn’t afford the repayment, and he felt he should not be penalised for a mistake he didn’t make. After requesting a review, the ATO decreased the amount to $8,400. Hassan still refused to accept this, contested it once again and the ATO finally retracted the repayment completely. 

Outrageously, Hassan’s case was not an isolated incident. The following month, he started working at the Migrant Workers Centre and a worker came to us for assistance with the same issue.

The worker was an independent contractor who was told he could apply for JobKeeper, was approved, and then asked to pay back $13,500 to the ATO. Hassan says, "He was crying because he does not speak English, he's not reading, he's not writing — he said, 'I did not make any mistake.'"  Luckly, Hassan knew from experience the worker could contest the case. “We were able to help the worker submit an objection to the ATO. Last Friday, the worker called the Migrant Workers Centre and thanked us for helping him. The ATO had canceled his repayment order.”

Despite these wins, it’s becoming clear this is a wider issue affecting many other migrant workers. Hassan spoke to ABC about his experience, and since then, more workers in our network have come forwards with a similar story to tell.

If you’re a worker who’s been asked to repay your JobKeeper income - we can assist. Fill out this form and we will be in touch: https://weareunion.typeform.com/to/Df6WqOWO

You can read more about Hassan’s story here or listen to his interview with Virginia Trioli on ABC mornings here.

Multicultural Safety Ambassador Information Sessions

Migrant Workers Centre Multicultural Safety Ambassadors are continuing to run sessions in language about workplace rights and safety. Recent events include a session in Amharic by Winta Eyod at an Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo church, and a session in Oromo held at a park for a local women’s community group - led by Shemsia Waritu. These sessions expand the breadth of the Migrant Workers Centre’s community outreach work and are an avenue for us to share key information about workplace rights and safety through trusted community leaders in different languages.

Community Outreach During Ramadan

During this month of Ramadan, Islamic communities have been gathering at mosques for prayer and celebration. Migrant Workers Centre organisers have taken the opportunity to visit mosques around Melbourne to speak to workers and distribute flyers about workplace safety and rights. 

The Migrant Workers Centre would also like to wish all our Muslim brothers and sisters Eid Murbarak!

Migrant Worker Solidarity Network at the May Day rally

May Day is recognised internationally as a date to celebrate working people. The Migrant Worker Solidarity Network took to the streets for the rally this year, not only as a statement of the importance of international worker solidarity - but also to kick off our visa reform campaign. We brought signs along to the march to promote our petition, and volunteers used the opportunity to talk to workers and unionists about the campaign.

International Workers Memorial Day

On Wednesday 28 April, Victorian Trades Hall Council commemorated International Workers Memorial Day. In the past year, 48 people have been killed at work in Victoria. Every workplace death is preventable and as we remember those who’ve tragically lost their lives, the Migrant Workers Centre along with the union movement will continue to fight to improve safety at work.

Workplace safety is an issue that affects everyone, but migrant workers are often disproportionately impacted. Migrant workers are more likely to work in hazardous situations because of bosses who take advantage of the lack of familiarity with Australian workplace law, insufficient information available in relevant languages, and prohibitive visa conditions which may prevent workers from speaking out for fear of visa repercussions. An example is the devastating chemical fire at the Bradbury waste management plant in 2019. After the fire, workers at the plant - many of whom were former refugees from Sri Lanka - spoke about the dangerous work conditions, frequent injuries and sub-par safety standards.

Ongoing efforts to improve workplace safety, especially for migrant workers, is critical to ensuring cases like Bradbury, and the dozens of workplace deaths we’ve seen don’t continue to happen.

You can watch the live stream from International Workers Memorial Day here.

A Win for Menulog Gig Riders

Over the last 6 months, the campaign for gig workers has achieved big wins. In latest news, during April, Menulog announced it would be trailing an “employment model” for its delivery riders in lieu of the independent contractor practice that is common across the gig industry. The first step will be a trial with their delivery riders in Sydney. Moving gig riders to an employment based model will ensure workers receive award wages and have access to leave, standardise employer obligations to meet safety requirements, and ensure riders are insured against injury or accident. If you are a delivery rider in the gig economy, you can become a Transport Workers Union member here and join the campaign.