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Migrants work as slaves in Australia: Report

The photo shows immigrant laborers in a poultry factory.

Foreigners are toiling away in "slave labor" conditions in Australia, with migrants going extremely underpaid, a television report has revealed.

A 'Four Corners' program by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) interviewed young workers from Asia and Europe, who were underpaid by hundreds of dollars.  

The ABC program, aired on Monday, used footage from secret cameras to find that some migrants were working up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, in harsh conditions.

In some cases, workers earned AUD 18 an hour instead of the minimum legal rate for the job of 25 Australian dollars.

The photo shows foreign migrant workers working on farms in Australia.

 

According to the report, a group of laborers from Hong Kong and Taiwan were being paid just AUD13-14 an hour for hard work while Australians doing the same job earned more than AUD 20.

The report said many of them were working with false names under unscrupulous labor hire contractors and many women also faced sexual harassment.  

The report added that the slave-like work conditions for migrants were widespread especially in farming communities in Queensland and Victoria states.

Australian state government has said that it would hold an inquiry into the exploitation of migrant workers.

"There's slave labor in this country," National Party member of parliament Keith Pitt told the 'Four Corners' program. "It's something we need to get rid of."

Natalie Hutchins, Victoria's minister for industrial relations, also said the government was seeking to launch an investigation aimed at cracking down on unscrupulous operators.

"The Victorian government will also advocate for a national response to what is a national shame."

In recent years, the Australian government has been under fire at home and abroad for its strict immigration policies and treatment of immigrants and refugees.

AR/GHN/HMV


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