Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/21
By: Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 21 (CNA) A study on conditions faced by temporary workers in Australia has

Image taken from Pixabay

found that many international students and backpackers are paid less than the legal minimum wage in that country, with Asian workers from Taiwan, China and Vietnam more likely to be treated that way than those from English-speaking nations.

About three quarters (75-81 percent) of Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese temporary workers were underpaid in Australia, compared with 35-41 percent of Americans, Irish and British workers, said the “Wage Theft in Australia” report, conducted by two law professors from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

The study also found that the problem of “wage theft” was widespread across numerous industries but most prevalent in food services and particularly severe in fruit and vegetable picking. It concluded that wage theft is “endemic” among temporary workers in Australia.    [FULL  STORY]