Don't deport cleaners like me who speak out about abuse in my workplace

My name is Diwakar. I clean offices in the city. I’m grateful for the work – but when my colleague was promised $15/hour, then sacked and never paid at all for the work, it broke me.

This exploitation and bullying of us cleaners is rife. Some of it is downright awful: being underpaid like workers at 7-Eleven, or no pay at all for back-breaking hours, no annual leave. Sometimes companies hide records of us even working for them to protect themselves.

But what makes it even worse – right now people fear being deported just for saying anything about the exploitation, bullying and abuse we're suffering.

So we're forced into silence, and those breaking the law keep getting away with it.

That's why I'm pleading with the new Ministerial Working Group to help protect vulnerable foreign workers to grant amnesty to workers who speak out about abuse and exploitation.

Please help by signing my petition. It's terrifying to speak out, so I really need your help.