Madison Eastmond, Murray Pioneer

Claims an employment initiative utilised to bring Pacific Island workers to the Riverland is exploitative are failing to recognise both sides of the situation, according to a senior local cultural leader.

A recent report by the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre (IARC), has called the temporary visas part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery”.

More than 30,000 people from Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste work in Australia on temporary visas as part of the PALM scheme, with the majority in the agriculture (53 per cent) or meat processing (38 per cent) sectors.

PALM is the last of Australia’s temporary visa programs, with the scheme requiring workers to be bonded to their employer, who also is their sponsor in the program, unless granted approval from the Department of Employment and Workplace relations.

IARC’s report, Preventing Migrant Worker Exploitation in Australia, found the restrictive conditions of the visa mean PALM workers are sometimes unable to escape workplace exploitation, including: Employers being able to make deductions from the wages of PALM workers. PALM workers regularly being threatened with deportation by their employer. PALM workers unable to meet basic living standards. PALM workers ‘disengaging’ from the scheme

Built on research by The Australian Institute, IARC found the numbers of PALM workers who are injured or die while in Australia has increased between 2020 and 2023, with 233 critical injuries and 45 deaths.

The report also claims once PALM workers return home, they find it almost impossible to access their superannuation.

Pacific Islands Council of South Australia president Tukini Tavui said “it was important to maintain a balanced view” when discussing the PALM scheme, saying the restrictions considered both employers and employees within the scheme.

“The PALM scheme (and the visas) are a structured program that supports the workers, while also meeting the needs of the employer,” he said.

“Within the current deed of agreement between the employer and the government, there is a component there that discusses redeployment (of the worker).

So, there is already a mechanism in place (for workers to leave their employer) — this is an attempt by the government to address this particular issue. “When it comes to workers being given the freedom to go from one work place to another, that would be a red flag and open up a problematic door. We already have workers leaving employers because they think they will get more money somewhere else, or they have friends or family in another company.

“So, this could be quite problematic to the employer who has invested a lot of resources to get the workers to Australia.

“This would be required to be managed much more thoroughly if we made that option more accessible, otherwise, it would create a lot of problems for the employer and the program — we can’t have people moving around for any reason.”

Mr Tavui said workers still benefit from being in one of the lowest tax brackets, at a 15 per cent rate. However, he said the “superannuation is a problem”.

“This is an operational issue,” he said.

“A range of problems go into this, one being their capacity to understand the language, how the system works, and the complete process.

“There is a lack of information and a lack of awareness around how to access the superannuation.

“Support when PALM workers finish their contract and exit is needed — there is nothing to prepare them for w hen they are heading home, that lack of information and plan is at the cause of this issue.”

Mr Tavui said instances of workplace exploitation around Australia were rare, and several factors attributed to the program’s death toll of 45.

“Employers who haven’t done the right thing — they are in the program,” he said.

“I knew of a female employee who was electrocuted, had to be driven to hospital by her fellow friends, and then had to walk home.

“How that employer is still part of the PALM program, I have no idea — I am currently in the process of getting that case looked at again.

“However, the death toll also is made from pre-existing sickness from those who never should have been placed in the program in the first place, or is alcohol related (from feeling displaced in the community, or a lack of accountability or structure when coming to Australia).”

Mr Tavui said he hoped “good employers who make up the majority of the PALM program” receive some acknowledgement.

“I have a problem painting every employer with the same brush,” he said.

“I know, first-hand, that many employers bend over backwards for their workers, utilising their own resources to take care of their workers, employers who are donating to the communities of their workers.

“They are very caring, and go beyond the call of duty easily.

“However, the (government) never acknowledges them. Of course, when something wrong comes up, everyone is punished with the same brush.”

Citrus Australia declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Murray Pioneer. 

This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 27 November 2024.