5,000 signatures reached
To: Scott Morrison
PERMANENT VISAS FOR ALL WORKERS WHO CALL AUSTRALIA HOME
All workers in our community deserve a secure life and place to call home. But Australia’s visa system is stacked against migrant workers. The pathway to permanent residency and citizenship is increasingly filled with barriers that make a stable life in Australia impossible.
We’re calling on Scott Morrison and his government to:
* Make the newly proposed visa subclass 191 a pathway to permanent residency for migrant workers of all visa subclasses who have worked and made a home in Australia
* Provide all holders of employee sponsored visas a clear pathway to permanent residency
* Replace the employer-sponsorship system with a state sponsored migration program that prioritises the needs of workers rather than employers
* Establish a firewall between the Fair Work Ombudsman and the department of Home Affairs to ensure migrant workers who report wage theft don’t face visa cancellations or future visa penalties for breaches of visa-specific work conditions
Why is this important?
Scott Morrison’s visa system favours big businesses at the expense of working people. There are workers who have lived in this country for years, who have families and communities here, and every day do the work that keeps our country running - but who are stuck in limbo from temporary visa to temporary visa. Meanwhile, the government has enabled exploitative employers to churn through a vulnerable temporary migrant workforce with limited rights.
We need a fair visa system that puts workers over profit, and that gives every worker a fair chance - no matter where we come from.
How it will be delivered
Migrant Workers Centre activists will deliver this petition to local Members of Parliament.