AUSTRALIA BACKPACKERS WORKING IN FARMS ARE FORCED BY EMPLOYERS TO LIVE IN CROWDED AND CRAMPED CONDITIONS AS ONE LANDLORD EARNING $ 2000 WEEKLY FROM MORE THAN 20 SUCH WORKERS BY CHARGING MINIMUM $ 60 WHO ARE ALLOWED TO SLEEP IN THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE AND TO SHARE COMMON BATHROOM FOREIGN farm workers had to pay $60 a week to sleep on the floor of the garage of a Gippsland house, according to backpackers who stayed at the residence. A Weekly Times investigation has revealed the residence is one of 10 in Maffra and Sale that accommodate overseas workers in crowded and cramped conditions. And they appear to be in breach of Victorian housing laws. The investigation found: OWNERS of the house appear to have a commercial arrangement with at least five labour hire firms. THE local shire was aware of some of these houses and had inspected at least one of them in the past 12 months. UP to $2000 a week was generated by landlords in rent. It is the latest revelation to shock the Gippsland horticulture industry after The Weekly Times revealed allegations of foreign workers being underpaid and the use of labourers without proper visas on two major farms in the area. Several Taiwanese backpackers claimed when they stayed at 18 Alfred St, in Maffra, up to four men paid $60 a week to sleep on mattresses on the garage floor. They also claim the Maffra house, which has three bedrooms plus a bungalow and one bathroom with two toilets, accommodated up to 20 workers. These backpackers claimed they worked on major commercial farms nearby, and their accommodation was organised by their labour hire contractor known as Van. “(There) were four mattresses on the floor (of the garage) and a refrigerator,” a former worker who wanted to be known as Ms Yu claimed. “It was pretty cold in winter, there was a heater in the garage, but they were not allowed to use it because it was broken.” Those sleeping inside the house paid $70 a week, but another worker, who stayed in the Maffra house until January this year, claimed the rent was increased while she was there. “It was $70 per week, but it became $80. The reason … was because there was a week that we didn’t have any work,” said the former worker, who did not want to be named. “And the house owner, who is our boss, Van, said that we stay at home all the time and it costs the bills more than (if) we went out for work.” All the workers at the house had rent taken out of their wages by their contractor, who lived in one bedroom of the house, while the other bedrooms and garage crammed up to five workers at a time. “I found the living conditions very cramped and uncomfortable. It was very crowded in your room. You could not open a suitcase when everyone was in there,” Ms Yu claimed. She claimed there were another three houses in Maffra where foreign farm workers lived in the same conditions. Ms Yu also claimed a government official, understood to be from the Wellington Shire Council, visited the house last year while she lived there. “I told the officer that there was 20 people sleeping in the house,” she said. “The officer wanted to see the garage, so I showed them and told them there was up to five men sleeping there.” She alleged after the visit, a Vietnamese supervisor from a nearby farm where they were working called “Loi” came to the house. “He advised the house needed smoke alarms ... (and) said the garage needed to be ‘refreshed’ and one more toilet needed to be added,” she said. Ms Yu said her contractor was furious at her for talking to the government official. “After this visit nothing changed,” Ms Yu alleged. Wellington Shire spokeswoman Katy Cummins said the Alfred St house was one of three registered rooming houses in their jurisdiction. There is another in Pearson St, Maffra, and one in nearby Llowalong. Under the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, operators must register rooming houses with the local council to rent out one or more rooms to four people or more. Ms Cummins said the Alfred St house was registered in February this year, after a visit to the premises last years. The Weekly Times is aware of nine other houses in Maffra and Sale for foreigners who worked at Longford, Maffra, Boisdale and Lindenow farms. The Weekly Times’ investigation shows at least two of the houses are understood to be owned by labour hire contractors, who reap up to $2000 a week in rent from the workers. The owner of 112 Reeve St, who wanted to be known as Elizabeth, said she no longer rented out her house to farm workers and denied a former worker’s claim up to 10 people lived in the four-bedroom property and paid $100 a week rent. She claims when she was made aware of overcrowding at her property she called the police, and claimed the farm workers damaged her house.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 02:34:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015