Workers seek refuge in rural communities claiming employer abuse

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A hidden crisis is unfolding in Australia’s flagship pacific development program known as the palm scheme with workers leaving their employers and accusing them of being abusive. Many have sought refuge in rural communities after becoming undocumented, unemployed and homeless.

Transcript

00:00Susan Pinoo wanted to provide for her family back in Solomon Islands, so she joined Australia's

00:09Seasonal Worker Scheme. But things quickly took a turn for the worse.

00:14I was left with nothing. Sometimes we're going to leave with a hundred bucks, two hundred.

00:21Susan said she had no choice but to leave.

00:24I feel sad.

00:27Pregnant with her daughter, she found refuge in Leighton in the New South Wales Riverina.

00:33Now on a bridging visa, she is one of more than 7,000 workers who have left the Palm Scheme

00:38and stayed in Australia since 2019. The experiences of these workers is the focus of a new report.

00:46We saw several pay slips that people showed us where they'd received zero take home pay.

00:51They're largely being, you know, exposed to situations that are equivalent to modern slavery.

00:57Locals in Leighton hope the solutions they're trying will become a model for the rest of the country.

01:03We can't walk away when we see people that maybe haven't been treated fairly. They don't really know where to go.

01:10They're frightened. They don't have any real connection. So we fill that gap.

01:15The Palm Scheme is often called a win-win for farmers and Pacific Island labourers.

01:21And many are relying on its success. Experts are calling for changes they say will keep more workers in the scheme.

01:29There needs to be much more flexibility for people as individuals employed on the Palm Scheme visa to actually have their say.

01:37Providing hope and security to those who need it most.

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