A new information booklet launched recently in Sydney will assist workers from overseas to know about their rights and help reduce the incidence of exploitation.
The booklet, produced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), is unique in that it is the first time the department has produced a publication specifically for workers. (WCxKit)
Entitled Your rights and obligations – immigration facts for workers, the booklet covers basic protections and entitlements, work rights, visa choices, employer obligations and using a migration agent.
The department presented the booklet to union organizers in western Sydney and to a range of other organizations in the coming weeks.
A departmental spokesman said the booklet was targeted at educating both overseas and Australian workers as well as employers and addressed some common misconceptions on work sites.
“One misconception is foreign workers take Australian jobs because they are paid less,” the spokesman said. “The booklet explains that sponsoring employers must not give foreign workers less pay or provide poorer conditions than Australians doing the same work at the same workplace.
“In developing the content for this booklet, the department has sought input from unions. It will be distributed along with an associated promotional poster to work sites and relevant agencies around Australia.”
Your rights and obligations include contact details for the department, Unions Australia, Fair Work Australia, the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (Office of the MARA) and the Translating and Interpreting Service. (WCxKit)
A one-stop easy reference guide, it has been written in plain English and translated into six other languages based on the main nationalities of vulnerable or illegal workers in Australia.
The spokesman said the department would continue its dual strategy of targeted compliance operations to identify illegal workers and their employers, as well as educating employers and workers about rights and responsibilities for sponsored foreign workers in Australia
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact: [email protected].
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