Two Malaysians among 23 caught working illegally down under

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MELBOURNE: Two Malaysians were among 23 illegal workers caught at a construction site in western Sydney this week.

They were illegally employed as plasterers, cement renderers and cleaners at a building site, the Department of Immigration said in a statement on Friday.

Most had expired visas or held visas with no work rights.

Twenty of the 23 illegal workers have been transferred to the Villawood Detention Centre for processing before they are sent back to their country of origin or citizenship “at the earliest opportunity”.

Seventeen of the men are from China, and two each from Malaysia, Taiwan and Mongolia.

Two of the other three were granted short-term bridging visas, with the third counselled and released.

The New South Wales State secretary for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Brian Parker said the breach came as no surprise, with employers all too often taking on illegal workers.

“This is a common practice that we find in the building and construction industry and it’s got to stop,” Parker told the Australian Associated Press.

He said the workers were being “consistently exploited”, with their wages typically being slashed by A$15 to A$20 an hour.

“Our members should be outraged at the fact that they can’t get continuity of employment.

“But here we have a company…employing a significant number of workers that haven’t got the legal right to work.”

Employers convicted for having illegal workers face fines of up to A$13,200 and two years’ imprisonment while companies face fines of up to A$66,000 an illegal worker. – Bernama