BY BELINDA CRANSTON
SYDNEY — A modest brick veneer building is tucked behind a prominent RSL club in Second Avenue, Blacktown, in Sydney's outer western suburbs. Inside, a dozen or so members of a Serbian Orthodox Church community stand while Father Saracevic conducts a Sunday morning service.
The interior walls and ceiling of St Nicholas Church are adorned with intricate religious murals set against a sky-blue background.
A brochure at the doorway acknowledges the religious frescoes are the work of Rados Stevanovich, who painstakingly worked on them for four years, however the Serbian artist does not attend Father Saracevic's Sunday morning services.
Nor does he return to the church to reflect upon, or show his work to friends.
Stevanovich is currently at the centre of a bitter dispute involving St Nicholas, the Labor Council, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), lawyers, and the immigration department.
The artist, who holds double fine arts degrees from Belgrade University and was a Dobell prize finalist in 2000, claims he was paid as little as $50 a week to work long hours and sleep in a shed while sponsored by St Nicholas on a immigration department 457 business visa.
He was promised an annual salary of $35,000, the minimum wage that must be paid to overseas employees on 457 visas.
The immigration minister, Philip Ruddock, stated in a letter to the CFMEU in November last year, that employers sponsoring overseas workers must "sign an undertaking that they will comply with Australian industrial laws, remuneration levels and conditions of employment". The immigration department also stipulates there has to be a shortage of local skills to justify an employer sponsoring an overseas worker on a 457 visa.
Stevanovich left Serbia to come to Australia in 1997 to visit his sister in Blacktown. Before long, Saracevic approached the immigration department about issuing Stevanovich with a 457 work visa. The war-torn state of the artist's homeland persuaded him to accept the priest's offer of sponsorship. According to CFMEU lawyer Rita Mallia, Stevanovich "trusted the church and the priest implicitly".
Father Saracevic does not wish to discuss his employment of the gifted artist. "I don't have permission to talk about it", he said.
Judy Burgess, a refugee lawyer from the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre, believes there is a growing problem among immigrants working on 457 business visas. "If a sponsor is underpaying an employee and the employee makes a complaint, the sponsorship agreement is terminated", she says. "Without a sponsor, the employee is no longer legally employed, and has to go home".
Jane Sampson, who heads up the business and residents division, told Green Left Weekly that employees in this situation "are given a generous amount of time to find another sponsor", but was unable to specify how long that was. She was also unable to verify if employers are penalised if in breach of 457 visa regulations.
A spokesperson from Kingsford Legal Centre says it receives a lot of "under payment" claims from holders of 457 business visas, but recognises pursuing claims is a risky procedure as it means employees may be forced to return home. "People who lodge claims are very brave", she said.
Stevanovich is an exception. He remains in Australia following the issue of a "special talent visa", given to some immigrants who excel in areas including art, science and sport.
Solicitor Reg Bartley is in the process of making a submission to the immigration department suggesting amendments to its policy on 457 business visas. "There have to be changes so that employees are not the only ones who are punished", he said.
Bartley acted on behalf of South African chefs Reevis Khumalo, Elliot Dube and William Ndlovu, who alleged their employer, the Manly operation of Ribs & Rumps, underpaid them on wages and entitlements worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The chefs were employed by the restaurant on 457 business visas for four years, commencing in late 1998. In November last year, the men put their case before the NSW Industrial Magistrate's Court. After several months of legal arguments, a confidential out of court settlement was reached.
"At least they got something", said Bartley. Without being able to find another sponsor, however, Khumalo and Ndlovu were forced to return to South Africa.
"The department has the attitude that the employee would not be here in the first place if they did not have a sponsor", says Bartley. "It's very simple and quite unfair on the employee."
Ribs & Rumps have also attracted the eye of unions. In a letter to the industrial relations minister in November last year, CFMEU state secretary Andrew Ferguson advised that South African chefs employed by Ribs & Rumps had been working as labourers on a building site at Gordon. The CFMEU said it understood that Ribs & Rumps did not tell its insurance company that this type of work was being undertaken. Ferguson wrote that "since there is no shortage of unemployed building labourers in Sydney in need of work, the employer had breeched the requirements of the 457 visa".
Ferguson has subsequently requested that the manager of Ribs & Rumps, David Diamond, be prosecuted. He has not been satisfied by the response.
"Since 1914, I am not aware of a prosecution against an employer", Ferguson explained.
Diamond denies the three South African chefs were hired as a form of cheap employment. "We've grown a business on the basis of these people's skills. They have taught Australian chefs a side of cooking they weren't familiar with", he said.
Diamond claims the chefs cost him $1000 a week each. This included wages, accommodation at a two-bedroom apartment in Manly, health insurance, uniforms, meals, and money that was to be made available in South African rand to their families.
But the chefs allege in sworn court affidavits they received $50 cash a week in their first twelve months at Ribs & Rumps, plus R1500 (A$324.25) a month, paid into their South African bank accounts. They maintain it was not their choice to be paid in South African rand.
"Mr Diamond told me that was how I would be paid because it was the law in Australia. I would have preferred to be paid in Australian dollars", Ndlovu said. "I believed him because I didn't know any difference. I did not know the laws in Australia."
Ndlovu claims he obtained only one PAYG statement while at Ribs & Rumps; this was in October 2002. He says he did not receive the amount shown on the statement.
Ndlovu also said the chefs were unaware of the payments Diamond made in respect of their rent or other expenses. "Mr Diamond did say that he would pay our rent and some other expenses, but he did not say that this would be deducted from our pay and I did not ever agree to this."
Chris Christodolou, the assistant secretary of the NSW Labor Council, believes the immigration department needs to develop a review process in conjunction with the Australian Tax Office, that will allow it to monitor wage payments, including tax and superannuation payments. Before applying to sponsor an immigrant on a 457 visa, Christodoulou also believes a company should be made accountable for efforts made to train its own work force.
Ferguson says migrants are employed over local labour because "the cost of labour that speaks English and knows labour laws is more expensive than someone from overseas". Consequently, he believes "labour standards for all workers are lowered".
A black South African worker, Oagiles Malothane, was issued with a 457 visa in August last year to work for construction company BGA projects at Lake Cargellico, in the NSW Riverina.
"He was simply used as a building labourer", says Mr Ferguson.
In a signed statement submitted to the CFMEU, Malothane maintains that in the three months he worked at the site, he received meals, accommodation, and two $50 payments.
Malothane was sponsored by Anton Beytell, who he had worked for in South African from 1994 to 1999.
On October 22 last year, the roof of the water tower Malothane was working on collapsed under the weight of a concrete pour, killing his South African employer and another worker. Malothane, whose leg was injured in the collapse, was flown to a Wagga Wagga hospital. He was advised by a doctor he needed to stay for at least ten days.
Malothane alleges Beytell's wife, Linda, arranged for a man who identified himself as "Karel" to persuade him to leave the hospital to return to South Africa. Malothane indicated that he needed to stay, however "Karel" assured him that the hospital's doctors had agreed it was okay for his treatment to continue in South Africa.
According to Malothane's statement to the CFMEU, he was paid R500 in cash. When he arrived in Johannesburg, he was met by another Afrikaaner, who drove him to the city of Potch, where he was given R4000 in cash. He later returned to his home township of Tswlelang. Linda Beytell telephoned him shortly afterwards, instructing him to go back to Potch to collect R40000 cash. Malothane refused to go.
Malothane has since been informed by the CFMEU that he qualifies for a permanent disability benefit as a consequence of the Lake Cargellico accident.
Commenting on the incident in an ABC news radio report, South African diplomat Rashida Adam spoke of an immigration racket operating in Australia, involving black South Africans working as slave labour. "We suspect that there are many more who could be in this situation", she said.
The Lake Cargellico incident prompted Ferguson to request a freeze on the immigration department's issue of business visas. In a letter to Philip Ruddock on October 30, Ferguson wrote, "The CFMEU understands this man was in Australia on a type 456 business visa. The union understands that this visa does not entitle the holder to work as a labourer in this country."
Ruddock's response, dated November 15, was less than sympathetic.
"I am concerned that you continue to make allegations in the Sydney media about what you call 'guest workers' and 'cheap labour'", Ruddock wrote. "Of particular concern are your claims that the Government and my Department in particular are failing to deal with the issues. As you know the Government has a very active and continuing immigration compliance program.'
Christodoulou believes newly arrived immigrants should be advised of their work rights and entitlements from the moment they arrive in Australia. This includes information related to award rates of pay and entitlements, translated in a language they understand. Christodoulou also says "there should be public transparency as to who is employing people on 456 and 457 visas, so we don't accidentally come across cases of abuse."
To prevent illegal use of immigrants by sub-contractor companies, Christodoulou suggests clauses be inserted in building project agreements. He says in current situations, it is possible an employer may be fined under industrial relations legislation, but this would be fairly minor".
From Green Left Weekly, October 1, 2003.
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