“Just be brave and report it”

When Lee*’s hand was badly injured by machinery at his meat processing job, he was reassured that his pay would be taken care of by Work Cover. But when the payments came, they were far less than his weekly wage.

Lee’s employer had been under-reporting wages to keep premiums down, and when Lee complained he was fired.

Having arrived in Australia as a refugee from China in 2017, Lee wasn’t familiar with our legal system and didn’t know where to begin. Luckily, a friend was able to help him start a claim in the Fair Work Commission, and he was then referred to Redfern Legal Centre. Their support at conciliation led to a settlement that saw Lee receiving over $150,000.

Lee was delighted: “I feel the warmth by the treatment from Redfern Legal Centre, how the system works here … they were like my parents in Australia!” he laughs.

But without RLC’s support, Lee says, he would have got nowhere. “The language barrier and lack of knowledge for the legal system here made that impossible,” he says.

And that wasn’t the end of the story: Lee’s pro bono lawyers then discovered that he had been routinely paid below the minimum wage by multiple employers. Lee had been completely unaware of the underpayments, which were significant. He pursued four employers in court and recovered another $85,000 in wages owed. “I was very, very happy,” he says. “I used the money for my kids to go to university.”

Sadly, other employers who owed him wages had since de-registered, so he wasn’t able to recover everything he was owed. Temporary visa holders are not eligible for payment under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee, a government scheme that compensates employees for unpaid wages when their employer is declared bankrupt. Lee’s fairly philosophical about that: “I just let it go,” he says. But he’s passionate about sharing his story with other recent migrants.

“Just tell them a reminder,” he says, “that there is a lot of companies out there that underpay the workers, paying only $16 or something an hour. Also let people know that if a workplace accident happens, do not be afraid to report it. Do not be afraid of the employer doing something bad to them - just be brave and report it.”

Without better funding of community legal services and other improvements to the current system, countless migrants like Lee will never recover what they’re owed. Our blueprint for reform All work, no pay has been endorsed by 24 legal service providers as well as community and anti-trafficking organisations across Australia .

* Lee’s name has been changed