Worker Stories

October 18, 2024

In 2012, Albert came to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa. However, even with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and prior experience, securing suitable employment was almost impossible. This forced him into a month-long stint at a Thai restaurant, where he endured poor conditions...

December 13, 2023

William reached out to the Migrant Workers Centre for support. Through our industrial casework program, we were able to recover $20,000 (before tax) in compensation.

December 13, 2023

A group of 5 workers have recovered $118,425.05 in stolen wages with the support of the Migrant Workers Centre after the food manufacturing business they worked for closed down without warning in November 2022.

September 14, 2022

Being on a temporary visa made standing up against workplace exploitation and harassment difficult for Felisia. But joining her union empowered Felisia despite her uphill battles with an unjust visa system. 

March 24, 2022

Kamran came to the Migrant Workers Centre for assistance with an injury in early 2021. He was suffering from the ongoing debilitating effects of a physical injury he had sustained a few years prior working at a car wreckers company in June 2017.  Kamran had...

August 11, 2021

Abbas* came to the Migrant Workers Centre for help after a physical assault by his supervisor left him hospitalised. Abbas came to Australia in 2010 from Iraq. Despite living and working here for over a decade, he hasn’t been able to get a permanent...

June 18, 2021

Jasmine moved to Australia in 2014 on a partner sponsored visa. She got a warehouse job for retail giant Riot Art and Craft, where she worked full time on a permanent contract for nearly 6 years. In May, Jasmine came to us for advice:...

May 17, 2021

Last year, the Morrison government cruelly locked temporary visa holders out of JobKeeper and JobSeeker. Not only did this move leave over a million workers without support during the peak of the pandemic, but we’re now hearing from workers on temporary visas who had...

April 07, 2021

Ravi* reclaimed $9,288.83 in stolen wages after fighting against his employer’s unfair and incorrect classification of him as an ‘independent contractor’.Ravi, a 26 year old from India, came to Australia in 2019 with his wife who was studying. To make ends meet, he got...

February 17, 2021

2020 ended on a high for migrant worker Anil* who successfully clawed back $80,0000 in stolen wages.     Anil’s boss had been stealing his wages for four years. Anil worked at a supermarket chain regularly doing long twelve hour shifts, sometimes seven days a...