“I didn’t know my rights, until I started asking questions”
Jian arrived in Australia from Malaysia in 2018, hoping to build a more secure future for himself. Through a friend, he found a job at a restaurant before eventually securing more stable work at a supermarket located in an eastern suburb of Melbourne.
For six and a half years, Jian worked almost every day handling vegetables: pulling heavy crates from delivery trucks, stocking shelves, bundling produce, and moving items into the cold room. His shift was always the same: 7am to 5pm, sometimes six or seven days a week, often going months without a real break.
“At first, it was painful and I had to get used to it,” he said. “But after a while, you just keep going.”
Despite the long hours and physically demanding work, Jian was paid far below the legal rate. He started on $10.50 an hour, eventually working his way up to just $24, still under minimum wage. The supermarket only declared 16 hours per week for tax and superannuation purposes, paying the rest in cash. No payslips. No leave. No proper records.
Workers were told to write their own hours on scraps of paper. The owner paid them based on what was written without any transparent system.
“I didn’t know the legal rate,” Jian said. “I thought maybe that’s just how it works when you’re new here.”
But things changed when a former colleague mentioned someone who had successfully claimed unpaid wages through the Migrant Workers Centre. That conversation was the moment Jian realised he might not be alone.
“I started keeping copies of my hours. I took photos of everything.”
Unsure of his rights and worried about speaking up alone, Jian reached out to the Migrant Workers Centre through a friend. He brought the notes and photos he had quietly collected over the years.
When the Centre calculated how much he was actually owed, the total stunned him.
“I didn’t expect it to be that much,” he said.
With the support of the Migrant Workers Centre, including interpretation, wage calculations and help preparing documents, Jian was able to recover $65,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements.
“Everything I asked for, they helped me with. They supported me through the whole process.”
The recovery allowed Jian to move on from the supermarket and start rebuilding his life. He later found new work in a restaurant, this time earning the correct minimum wage, with proper superannuation and tax paid.
For Jian, the experience was more than a financial win, it changed how he saw himself as a worker in Australia.
“In Australia, we have rights. What we earn is what we deserve. We shouldn’t let anyone take advantage of us.”
He now encourages other migrant workers to know their rights and reach out for help when something feels wrong.
“If someone needs assistance, I would tell them to contact the Migrant Workers Centre. It made all the difference for me.”
