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the Couples who come to work in Australia are paid as cheap as babysitters, but often end up working as housekeepers, working around 36 hours a week. What researchers say is another example of exploitation of foreign workers in Australia.
Laurie Berg, a professor of sociology at Sydney University of Technology, Gabrielle Meagher, a professor of sociology at Macquarie University, Sydney University of Technology, has surveyed nearly 1,500 au pairs in Australia.
The results, collected in 2017, reveal an uncomfortable picture.
It follows a similar study conducted by researchers on backpacker exploitation that is required by Australian visa law to spend 88 days doing agricultural work, such as fruit picking, in order to pbad a second year in Australia with a work visa.
The idea behind an au pair is that it is an opportunity for an immersive cultural experience where mainly young women live in a foster home. The arrangement includes accommodation, meals and pocket money, in exchange for child care and light housework.
The survey however revealed that 60% of them were working about 36 hours a week, not only for taking care of children, but also for cooking, housework and other household chores. Nearly one in 10, or 8%, reported working more than 50 hours a week.
The researchers found that their experience was more like a nanny at home, but without the salary or conditions.
The theoretical average hourly wage, taking into account the value of housing in kind, was $ 17.10, but the median wage was $ 15.31.
Two out of five had at least one serious problem, including the feeling of being forced to work more than expected (26%); feel obligated to do different tasks than expected (21%); non-payment of money promised (10%); verbal abuse (8%); and badual harm (1%).
In the open comments, participants reported being shouted, forced to work while feverish, helping parents help businesses, being on call 24 hours a day and being beaten by their father the household.
Australia has no official au pair program or specific au pair visa and most (94%) get holiday-work visas, which give young travelers the right to work. in Australia for at least a year.
But some are on tourist visas (2%), which do not allow to work as an au pair.
According to Mr Berg, the report presents a much anticipated national picture of the working conditions of au pairs and raises serious questions about the exploitation and lack of protection of vulnerable workers.
"We do not have an au pair program in this country, so until now we had no concrete information about the daily experiences of au pairs in Australian homes," she said. .
"Au Pair demand is often explained by the need for affordable child care for Australian families, but the study indicates that many families are taking advantage of the vast supply of active holidaymakers to also get housekeeping services at home. low price."
The vast majority were young European women, with 35% from Germany, 14% from France and 11% from the United Kingdom.
Two-thirds of the online survey respondents were 23 years old or younger, and most of them were placed in larger-than-average two-parent families in a large city.
Some work through agencies, but others work on websites themselves. Only about half had a written contract with their employer and most had not negotiated it. About one-third of investments ended earlier.
More than one-third (36%) who were asked to leave earlier said they were given a day or less to leave, and 53% had four days or less. This meant that they were actually left without a roof.
Meagher said the findings suggest that there may be serious power imbalances between au pairs and families that leave au pairs extremely vulnerable.
"One in six felt obliged to stay in a difficult placement because he was missing another home," said Meagher.
The report also questions the protective function of agencies that place young people in host families. Significantly, au pairs who used an agency to organize their placement did not perform better than others in terms of hours of work, rates of pay or integration. family activities.
Laurie says that this hidden labor force was collapsing when it came to clearly regulating and enforcing their rights.
"There is confusion among au pairs and families about acceptable minimum standards because different government agencies take different approaches," she said. "For example, the immigration rules treat au-pairs as workers, but the advice of the Fair Work Ombudsman and the ATO specify less the precise moment when au-pairs become employees."
Often, when au pairs contacted FWO, they were chased out, she said.
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