The Transport Workers Union (TWU) has launched a new campaign for ‘Aussie Work, Aussie Rights’, aiming to end the exploitation of foreign workers in Australia.

The TWU says it is also aiming to protect training and skills programs for the next generation of transport workers.

The campaign will see the Union write to more than 850 electoral candidates across the country, asking them to sign a pledge of better protection for migrant workers and assurance that Australia will continue to have the skills and training to compete for the jobs in the future.

TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said: “Whether you have a 60,000-year family heritage in Australia or you arrived here last week, when you do Aussie work you deserve Aussie rights... there are some 1.4 million people with working visas in Australia and too many live in fear of speaking out against their boss or are deep in debt to unscrupulous migration agents.”


Mr Sheldon says it is not just the small-time operators looking to scrounge a few extra dollars, “blue chip companies like Qantas/Jetstar are currently being prosecuted by the Fair Work Commission for paying Thai flight attendants working on Australian domestic routes as little as $247 a month.”

“We have seen numerous examples of exploited 457 workers, migration agents ripping off foreign workers for tens of thousands of dollars, and student and working holiday visa holders forced to live and work in filthy and dangerous conditions while being grossly underpaid,” Mr Sheldon added, “when dodgy bosses exploit migrant workers, it makes more difficult for our kids to get the jobs and training they need and it gives these companies an unfair advantage over the majority of Aussie businesses that play by the rules.”

Tony Sheldon concluded; “Recruiting labour from overseas is a quick and easy short-term solution to skill shortages, but the long-term solution lies in giving young Australians the opportunity to develop the skills and expertise that our economy needs.”