ONE of the great joys for a local newspaper like the South Coast Register is being able to make a difference.
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This we did in January when, with help from local union organisers, we lifted the lid on the raw deal given to Filipino and Chinese workers employed by Taiwanese company Chia Tung, itself contracted to install a feed mill at Manildra’s Bomaderry plant.
So it was heartening to catch up with the workers again, now that their case has been resolved. They are being paid their proper wages, their weekends are free and they are housed in much better conditions than when we found them. In the home that once housed 29 of them on mattresses on floors, sharing one kitchen and one bathroom, there are now five people.
Since the story came to light the workers have received the money due to them and now have the time to get out on weekends and spend it, not to mention going to the beach and enjoying the things the rest of us take for granted.
They have made local friends, discovering the generosity and sense of fair play on which Australia prides itself.
Some are keen to finish the job and get back to their families; others are imagining a future for themselves in this great country of ours.
The outcome of the case has seen Chia Tung now co-operating with the Fair Work Ombudsman to ensure similar breaches do not recur. More importantly, the Taiwanese company’s experience has sent a message to other companies that might be considering trying to get around our workplace laws: eventually they will get caught.
Having played a key role in bringing the exploitation to light and to a favourable end – and being thanked by the people caught up in the story – reminds us why a free and vigorous media is such a vital cornerstone of any democracy.