New guidance released today warns Australian businesses that wage underpayment is often an early indicator of serious exploitation, including modern slavery.
Off the Books: Practical Guidance for Business directly translates findings from the Migrant Justice Institute’s landmark Off the Books report co-authored by Associate Professor Laurie Berg from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Associate Professor Bassina Farbenblum from UNSW Sydney.
The research found two-thirds of temporary migrant workers across Australia were underpaid, and one in four were shortchanged by at least $10 per hour. It also shows that the more severe the underpayment, the more likely workers are to experience indicators of forced labour such as coercion, intimidation and restricted freedom.
Need for guidance
Last month the Australian Federal Government announced its intention to introduce a new criminal “failure to prevent” modern slavery offence, targeting large companies with annual consolidated revenues over $100 million.
The Guidance shows Australian companies where forced labour risks occur in practice, including misuse of ABNs, insecure casual employment, misleading payslips, cash payments, and underpaid night or weekend work. It also emphasises the need to safely engage workers, noting many temporary visa holders fear retaliation or visa consequences if they speak up.
The companion business guidance was developed by Walk Free, the Office of the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner and the Migrant Justice Institute. The guidance outlines examples of targeted due diligence by business where there are temporary migrant workers across Australian operations and supply chains.
“Our data shows for the first time that misuse of ABNs, misleading pay slips and forced labour indicators operate together as a single architecture of exploitation,” says report co-author, A/Prof. Farbenblum, from the UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice.
“In horticulture, hospitality, commercial cleaning, retail and well beyond, Australian employers are securing cost advantages by underpaying migrant workers and using the same handful of tricks to cover their tracks.”
Onus is on businesses
Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner Chris Evans says the onus is on businesses, not their employees, to ensure migrant workers’ rights are protected.
“Underpayment is not just non-compliance. In some cases, it is the first sign of more severe risk in your business or supply chain,” he says.
“Workers are often too afraid to make a report. That means businesses need to be proactive to identify risks early, remediate impacted workers, and put in processes so it doesn’t happen again.
“If you’re only checking paperwork, you’re missing what’s really happening to workers. Businesses need to get out, cross reference records and talk to workers to test the reality on the ground.”
