Two OFWs sue Aussie employer for discrimination

Two displaced Filipino guest workers Queensland, Australia sued their former employers over alleged discrimination over race and union membership.

Sydney Morning Herald reported in its online issue on Monday that Roy Yabut and Jun Ramirez lodged the case before the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal.

Yabut and Ramirez claimed they and another colleague were terminated in October last year by Dartbridge Welding based in Brisbane after they joined a workers’ union and complained about work conditions.

They said Dartbridge offered 40 Filipinos individual contracts that provided hourly pay below the market rate and left them without access to overtime pay, penalties and holiday pay.

But Dartbridge manager Wayne Harrison, representing himself in the tribunal, questioned Yabut about salary rates and conditions.

Under questioning, Yabut admitted the workers were paid $21.26 an hour , or well above the award rate of $15.72. He also accepted that the $175 a week rental charge included transport between work and home.

Also, they claimed they were forced to pay inflated rent for accommodation, with eight people sharing a four-bedroom house.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) said the workers were brought to Australia on 457 visas. It said the Filipinos were threatened with deportation when they complained about their work conditions.

"All of these occurred because they were Filipinos," AMWU national secretary David Oliver said in a statement issued outside the tribunal. - GMANews.TV

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