Pacific Islands Seasonal Workers Help

In May 2022, Amanda Slade discovered over 50 Pacific Island Seasonal Workers staying at her little motel and around her local area in Qld had been left with no money, and no work after being tricked into handing over up to $3000 in a Visa

Amanda gave many workers accommodation and food, whilst footing the entire cost and losing over $40,000 in income to date.

Amanda continues to care for 9 Pacific Island workers to this date with accommodation, food and essentials at her own expense to date.

Amanda is now In danger of losing her business as the bills are mounting and she has had no financial assistance to date - even after a plea for help to various ministers and government agencies.

Below is the email:

Good morning,

I am writing this email to get urgent assistance for The Pacific Islands, Seasonal Workers in Bundaberg, all over Australia, and for my small business.

On the 20th of June 2022 I reported ****** Contracting to various government agencies- who had brought over 50 Seasonal Workers to the Bundaberg region from Victoria on the 15th and 20th of May 2022, and housing 30 of them in my Motel in Bargara.

****** Contracting had organised the workers to meet with an Immigration agent to apply for Protection Visas charging them up to $3000, then giving them no work and leaving them with no money to survive or pay for accommodation, which was reported recently by numerous press outlets

Since then, we have had some assistance from DFAT, DESE and a visit from a representative of the PALM scheme last week to try and help some of the disengaged workers re-join the program, and find work to be able to support themselves, I do appreciate the efforts that were taken by the various departments and people I have spoken with over the last 2 months, and I understand that there are policies and procedures that need to be followed. However, the situation is now critical.

I am still providing accommodation and essentials for 9 former Ursons employees at my motel and covering all their costs, including food. I am looking out for their welfare and well-being.

They have no money; they are still unable to work.

They are depressed, scared, and fearful of what the future holds for them. They are ashamed because they cannot send money home to their families. These are incredibly proud, hard-working people who made a difficult decision to leave their country to try and provide better futures for their children. As the parent of a 6-year-old child, I can only admire them for the sacrifice they have made.

My income comes from charging for accommodation & the circumstances over the past 3 months have devastated operations. My small business has incurred losses of more than $40,000 to date, from providing a home for disengaged workers that have no money to pay for their rooms and have had no access to any kind of financial assistance - I cannot, and I will not put them out on the streets with nothing with no one to support and care for them. I also cannot continue to carry the cost.

I am now unable to pay my suppliers, I am under extreme financial distress and hardship, and I am in danger of losing my business. I am finding it impossible to make up for the lost income – Covid has already deeply impacted my business and I have worked hard to try and come back from that, carrying all the costs for this has now made it an insurmountable challenge.

I am still being inundated daily with calls and messages from Pacific Island workers from all over the country that are both on the program and disengaged with requests for help. My time is now spent trying to help or find them help.

On Friday at around midnight, I received a message from a worker called Adson, asking for immediate help. He said that he had been dumped in Redcliffe, Victoria by his contractor with no money and was told he had to get on a flight to Vanuatu the next morning with no explanation as to why.

He didn’t understand what was happening and why it was happening. I then spoke to Adson on the phone to try and assist him, the language barrier, and the geographical distance made it almost impossible to help him, however, there was absolutely no mistaking the fear in his voice - I have attached screenshots of this conversation to this email.

I contacted Valencia Packete, in the middle of the night to help Adson as I was unable to, she found him support from someone in the area, who was then able to assist Adson by giving him a place to stay over the weekend.

Valencia is originally from Vanuatu but has been a resident of Australia for 22 years. She has been independently and tirelessly helping these workers since the start of the program and has funded this herself, whilst being a single working mother. Valencia flew into Bundaberg on Saturday which was funded by both the workers and Valencia personally to help those in this region, with requests for help with everything from Visas, Heath Care, Financial support, Deductions being taken from their pay and lack of work. The list is endless and the number of people from nearly all the Countries involved in the program asking for support and assistance is growing daily from all over Australia.

Yesterday alone, we had 9 seasonal workers who are on the program and have been sponsored by a Bundaberg based employer, come to my place of business for help.

They have not worked in over 2 weeks; they stated that the contractor had recently sponsored new seasonal workers who are now working in the jobs that they have been in since arriving in March this year.

They have no money; they have been eating one portion of sweet potato and noodles a day. I have now purchased them some fish and rice, so they have something more substantial to eat.

We have had a request from 18 workers in South Australia to fly there and help them with sorting out numerous issues that they are facing and want our help and support – They have offered to each put in money to pay for our flights and accommodation as they are so desperate for assistance, and due to literacy levels and limited English. These workers will not call the designated helplines or send emails as we have suggested to them – Many are fearful of repercussions from their employers if they complain and are scared that they will be deported.

These are not isolated incidences, this is happening every day all over Australia and the number of workers coming forward repeating the same stories of mistreatment, financial abuse, and what appears to be a lack of care for the physical, mental, and emotional welfare of many employers.

We urgently are requesting assistance for all the above. It is crucial that we get both financial and on-the-ground practical support for both the workers and ourselves.

Kind regards
Amanda Slade and Valencia Packete