PETALING JAYA: Malaysians working legally in Australia enjoy the same benefits as Australian citizens.
Ahmed Suffian Zamiran from Kuching, said working conditions are great if you stay and live lawfully there.
Depending the industry or sector one is employed in, Australian employment is worth it if you compare it with Malaysia, not only because of the currency rate but also the job scope, he added.
“We earn money hourly, get paid weekly, we pay taxes and also have superannuation deduction which is good. We are treated like Australian citizens even though we are on visa,” he told theSun yesterday.
Superannuation is a compulsory system of placing a minimum percentage of income into a fund to support financial needs in retirement.
Ahmed, who has worked in Melbourne for four years, said there is no such thing as working like a slave if you are employed legally in Australia.
He was sharing his working experience there after Malaysia imposed a ban on Australian farm work visa.
Ahmed said farm work will provide a huge opportunity for Malaysians to experience and gain all the benefits Australia provides.
“(You will get) a better lifestyle by having decent jobs and proper living conditions that you’ve been dreaming of.
“I would like Malaysians to come and take this golden opportunity. It is an eye opener. There is so much to appreciate and be grateful for,” he said, adding that there are pros and cons in working and living in another country.
Selayang member of Parliament William Leong Jee Keen recently urged Human Resources Minister Datuk M. Saravanan to review the Australian farm work visa ban he had announced.
Nearly 10,000 Malaysians were recorded as having overstayed their visas in 2016-17.
The visa scheme accords a lifetime opportunity for some unemployed Malaysians to work on farms in Australia.
Farm workers and farmers will have access to this visa scheme and farm hands might be able to earn as much as RM12,000 to RM15,000 a month.
Leong said by banning Malaysians from obtaining this visa, the government is condemning Malaysians working on Australian farms to a life of exploitation and modern slavery.
“The first reason given, that the visa is not acceptable to the government because it is a pathway to Australian permanent residence, is not correct,” Leong said.
“The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has stated that the Australian farm work visa is not a pathway to permanent residence in Australia.
“The visa is a result of an Australian parliament committee finding of labour exploitation linked to visa conditions, leveraged by unscrupulous employers to exert control over migrant labour, many of whom are Malaysians.”
He said the second reason given is that the Australian scheme would compete with the new government’s programme of replacing foreign plantation workers with Malaysian workers.
Under the localisation programme to replace foreign workers with Malaysians, local workers will be given an incentive of RM500 per month on a minimum wage of RM1,500 per month.
He added that the government appears to be unaware of conditions of Malaysians working in Australian farms.
