Overseas students who work as cleaners in Australian shopping centres are being exploited by their employers while retailers enjoy large profits, a new study has claimed. The report highlights extreme workloads, underpayment and a culture of discrimination and says internationals are less likely to complain than the rest of the workforce. Overseas students who work as cleaners in Australian shopping centres are being exploited by their employers while retailers enjoy major profit rises, a new study has claimed. The
report, by
Victorian TAFE International and the union United Voice, highlights extreme workloads, underpayment and a culture of discrimination as problems, and says internationals are less likely to complain than the rest of the workforce.
"Both government and shopping centre owners could be considered to be in breach of their duty of care to international students by failing to educate them on their rights, and allowing exploitation to flourish," the report states.
The report, which estimates some 50% of cleaners are overseas students, surveyed 391 "retail cleaners" in Victoria, 41 of whom were international students.
“A number had not received all the pay they were owed while more than half struggled to survive on their wages"
It found that one in three of the latter group had suffered stress about their workloads and over a third worked additional hours without pay.
A number had not received all the pay they were owed while more than half struggled to survive on their wages, which averaged the legal minimum – around AUS$17 an hour – but could be lower.
“You talk about rights, they give you more job, they give you more punishment, they give you mental pressure,” says one South Asian student interviewed for the report.
While Australian cleaners also faced these problems, some issues were specific to overseas students. Nearly 40 per cent reported that their supervisors were sometimes rude or abusive – significantly higher than their Australian colleagues at 20.6 per cent.
Some had also experienced discrimination based on their race, particularly Indians who made up around 50 per cent of the cleaners interviewed. Moreover, 25% were wary of approaching a union compared to 14% of domestic cleaners. "Unsure of their rights...many international students can be easily exploited," warns the report.
The report blames the generally poor conditions on a "highly competitive" retail cleaning industry where providers cut labour costs to win contracts, and it said retailers were doing little to change things. While Westfield, one of Australia’s leading shopping centre chains reported a 31.4% profit increase to AUS$800 million in the first half of 2012, some contractors were shown to underpay by as much as $139 per week.
"These issues keep coming up, that's what concerns me"
A spokesman for the Shopping Centre Council of Australia said
United Voice, one of Australia's largest trade unions, said the survey was a "stunt" to win higher pay for its members. However Australia's race discrimination commissioner, Dr Helen Soze, called on the Council to act.
"These issues keep coming up, that's what concerns me," she told ABC Radio.
"[Shopping centres] need to be auditing their own practices, they need to be checking on what's happening with their contractors. They need to be sure that they are compliant with their legal obligations in terms of they're bringing those contractors into play."
Last month the Australian Human Rights Commission introduced a
set of principles to protect the rights of international students, following a number of high profile cases of abuse across Australia, including attacks on Indian students in 2010 and widespread
exploitation by landlords.
Overseas students who work as cleaners in Australian shopping centres are being exploited by their employers while retailers enjoy major profit rises, a new study has claimed. The report, by Victorian TAFE International and the union United Voice, highlights extreme workloads, underpayment and a culture of discrimination as problems, and says internationals are less likely to complain than the rest of the workforce.
“Both government and shopping centre owners could be considered to be in breach of their duty of care to international students by failing to educate them on their rights, and allowing exploitation to flourish,” the report states.
The report, which estimates some 50% of cleaners are overseas students, surveyed 391 “retail cleaners” in Victoria, 41 of whom were international students.
“A number had not received all the pay they were owed while more than half struggled to survive on their wages”
It found that one in three of the latter group had suffered stress about their workloads and over a third worked additional hours without pay.
A number had not received all the pay they were owed while more than half struggled to survive on their wages, which averaged the legal minimum – around AUS$17 an hour – but could be lower.
“You talk about rights, they give you more job, they give you more punishment, they give you mental pressure,” says one South Asian student interviewed for the report.
While Australian cleaners also faced these problems, some issues were specific to overseas students. Nearly 40 per cent reported that their supervisors were sometimes rude or abusive – significantly higher than their Australian colleagues at 20.6 per cent.
Some had also experienced discrimination based on their race, particularly Indians who made up around 50 per cent of the cleaners interviewed. Moreover, 25% were wary of approaching a union compared to 14% of domestic cleaners. “Unsure of their rights…many international students can be easily exploited,” warns the report.
The report blames the generally poor conditions on a “highly competitive” retail cleaning industry where providers cut labour costs to win contracts, and it said retailers were doing little to change things. While Westfield, one of Australia’s leading shopping centre chains reported a 31.4% profit increase to AUS$800 million in the first half of 2012, some contractors were shown to underpay by as much as $139 per week.
“These issues keep coming up, that’s what concerns me”
A spokesman for the Shopping Centre Council of Australia said United Voice, one of Australia’s largest trade unions, said the survey was a “stunt” to win higher pay for its members. However Australia’s race discrimination commissioner, Dr Helen Soze, called on the Council to act.
“These issues keep coming up, that’s what concerns me,” she told ABC Radio.
“[Shopping centres] need to be auditing their own practices, they need to be checking on what’s happening with their contractors. They need to be sure that they are compliant with their legal obligations in terms of they’re bringing those contractors into play.”
Last month the Australian Human Rights Commission introduced a set of principles to protect the rights of international students, following a number of high profile cases of abuse across Australia, including attacks on Indian students in 2010 and widespread exploitation by landlords.
