Twenty illegal workers found in Sydney
TWENTY illegal workers are being held at Villawood Detention Centre after they were nabbed at a construction site in western Sydney.
Seventeen men from China, two from Taiwan, two from Malaysia and two from Mongolia were illegally employed as plasterers, cement renderers and cleaners at a building site in Homebush Bay, the Department of Immigration said in a statement today.
Most had expired visas or held visas with no work rights.
Twenty of the 23 illegal workers have been transferred to Villawood Detention Centre for processing before they are sent back to their country of origin or citizenship "at the earliest opportunity".
Two of the other three were granted short-term bridging visas, with the third counselled and released.
Brian Parker, NSW secretary for the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), said the breach came as no surprise, with employers all too often taking on illegal workers.
"This is a common practice that we find in the building and construction industry and it's got to stop," Mr Parker said.
He said the workers were being "consistently exploited", with their wages typically being slashed by $15 to $20 per hour.
"Our members should be outraged at the fact that they can't get continuity of employment.
"But here we have a company ... employing a significant amount of workers that haven't got the legal right to work."
He called on the government to inject extra resources into the Immigration Department to allow greater policing of illegal employment, while accusing the industry regulator as being a waste of money.
"The millions of taxpayers' dollars wasted on the ABCC (Australian Building and Construction Commissioner) would be better spent in ensuring compliance with Australia's Immigration laws."
An Immigration spokesman said the department was investigating the matter.
Employers convicted under commonwealth legislation of having illegal workers face fines of up to $13,200 and two years' imprisonment while companies face fines of up to $66,000 per illegal worker.
Seventeen men from China, two from Taiwan, two from Malaysia and two from Mongolia were illegally employed as plasterers, cement renderers and cleaners at a building site in Homebush Bay, the Department of Immigration said in a statement today.
Most had expired visas or held visas with no work rights.
Twenty of the 23 illegal workers have been transferred to Villawood Detention Centre for processing before they are sent back to their country of origin or citizenship "at the earliest opportunity".
Two of the other three were granted short-term bridging visas, with the third counselled and released.
Brian Parker, NSW secretary for the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), said the breach came as no surprise, with employers all too often taking on illegal workers.
"This is a common practice that we find in the building and construction industry and it's got to stop," Mr Parker said.
He said the workers were being "consistently exploited", with their wages typically being slashed by $15 to $20 per hour.
"Our members should be outraged at the fact that they can't get continuity of employment.
"But here we have a company ... employing a significant amount of workers that haven't got the legal right to work."
He called on the government to inject extra resources into the Immigration Department to allow greater policing of illegal employment, while accusing the industry regulator as being a waste of money.
"The millions of taxpayers' dollars wasted on the ABCC (Australian Building and Construction Commissioner) would be better spent in ensuring compliance with Australia's Immigration laws."
An Immigration spokesman said the department was investigating the matter.
Employers convicted under commonwealth legislation of having illegal workers face fines of up to $13,200 and two years' imprisonment while companies face fines of up to $66,000 per illegal worker.
Comments
Post a Comment