AUSTRALIA: Calls for reform after Cook Islander abuse case
Updated
A Cook Islander living in Australia has been sentenced to two years jail after a viscious attack on a young employee. Manuel Puruto was sentenced by a Sydney Court on Thursday for a 2005 attack on then 18-year-old, Sam Kautai, with a claw hammer which left him blind in one eye. The attack, however, was just one part of a history of abuse by Puruto against Sam Kautai, and four other young Cook Islanders.
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Presenter: Bo Hill
Speakers: Tim Volmer, The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
VOLMER: A Cook Island employer who's living in Australia had used his contacts in the islands through one of his brothers to recruit five young Cook Island workers into the country all between the age of 16 and 18. Once they came to Australia they had their passports confiscated, they were forced to live with him, they were subjected to extreme violence, threats and intimidation and they were made to work six or seven days a week for only about 50 dollars a month. This case is one of the most extreme examples of exploitation we've ever uncovered and it was one where this man was using his contacts in the Cook Island community to identify vulnerable young workers who were desperate for a better life and a good job in Australia and using their optimism to bring them in and treat them effectively as slaves. The problem here was that he basically used a loophole in the Australian immigration laws where workers from the Cook Islands who travel on New Zealand passports didn't actually need work visas to work in Australia. So they came to Australia with no interaction with the immigration department, no knowledge of their legal rights and entitlements at work, and were never spoken to about who to call for help.
HILL: What's the union's reaction to the employer's sentence of two years jail?
VOLMER: We certainly welcome the employer being sentenced to two years jail for one of the most vicious assaults where he struck one of the young workers in the fact with a claw hammer, and that attack led to a broken jaw, broken nose, blindness in one eye and partial deafness in one ear. So it was an incredibly vicious attack. We actually want further prosecutions to take place. Separately we've run a claim to get unpaid wages for some of the workers, for two of the workers we've had a successful claim where the court has ordered the employer to pay more than 200-thousand dollars in unpaid wages. And we're also hopeful that the judge's comments yesterday that he was referring the case also to federal officials might mean that a further prosecution could take place for the people trafficking aspect of it.
HILL: How common is a situation like this?
VOLMER: Well we come across a lot of cases of exploitation of varying magnitude. There are quite common stories of migrant guest workers being brought into the country, paid much less than the comparable rates of pay, exposed to unsafe workplaces, denied workers compensation, those sort of things. In this case it was probably the most extreme example I've seen, but certainly there are tens of thousands of workers in Australia, some here legally, some illegally who are exposed to severe exploitation in their workplaces and employers who deliberately use the fact that they have less English skills and less knowledge of the Australian legal system to take advantage of them.
HILL: What do you think can be done then, especially for Pacific Islanders who perhaps don't have access to information about their rights if they do come to work in Australia?
VOLMER: Well we're doing two things; firstly we're pushing the new Australian government to toughen up the immigration system in Australia so that there are proper protections for guest workers. Any worker who comes from overseas to Australia should be guaranteed the same legal rights and protections as a local worker. They should receive the same rate of pay, the same protections at work, the same guarantee of a safe and healthy workplace, and we think it's unacceptable that that doesn't occur at the moment. Beyond that we're trying to talk to people within the Pacific Islands and saying to them be aware of your rights before you come. If you know of a young worker or a worker who's going to be coming to Australia talk to them, let them know there are people they can call for help. It is important not to be naïve, there are great opportunities in Australia but there are also people out there who are keen to exploit migrant workers, and so you need to be aware that it's not all rosy, you need to know who to go to for help, you need to know what your legal rights are, and you need to make sure you don't become another statistic like these young boys who were treated as slaves.
