Fr Peter O'Neill SSC, a member of Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) has been working tirelessly to ensure Seasonal Workers in Australia are aware of their rights, The Columban E-News reports.

Part of his work has involved advocating on behalf of 22 men from Vanuatu who were exploited while working on Australia farms some years ago.

Writing in The Columban E-News, Fr Peter said the workers were a part of a group who came to Australia on the Government’s Seasonal Worker Program in July 2014. This program is part of Australia’s aid program in the Pacific and is administered by the Department of Employment on behalf of the Federal Government.

*Columban Fr Peter O'Neill with Timorese seasonal workers. Photo: St Columbans Mission Society .*

Over a period of seven weeks, the workers worked on six different farms. When they were not paid their salaries, they asked their employer who was the contractor for their wages. He refused and threatened to refer them to the police and have them deported. Sometimes they were only given one meal a day.

Speaking in front of Judge Jarrett in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia in Brisbane on June 10, 2016, three of the workers gave heart-wrenching accounts of their treatment.

“When I asked my boss for payment of my wages, he got angry and said he would call the police to take me to jail and then I would be sent home to Vanuatu,” one man said.

“For a number of days I had no food other than a piece of bread and water to drink,” said another.

“Working for my boss was like slavery times,” said a third man.

In his Statement dated 24 March 2017, Judge Jarrett said the employer treated the workers “egregiously”, that they “were mistreated and treated aggressively when they enquired about their lawful entitlements”, and that his conduct “is approaching the worst example of contraventions of this type”. The judge ordered the employer to pay the workers their non-payment of salaries totalling $77,649 and issued him with a fine of $227,000. Nearly six years later the workers still have not received their stolen wages.

Over the last one-and-a-half years, on behalf of ACRATH, (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans) Fr Peter has assisted the 22 workers by regularly corresponding with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).

“Together with other members of ACRATH, I have walked the halls of Federal Parliament to meet with many Ministers to advocate that justice for the workers be speedily accomplished,” he wrote.

On 11 February 2020, the ACRATH National Office wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Mr. Scott Morrison requesting an ex-gratia payment totalling $77,649 be made to the 22 seasonal workers from Vanuatu.

Fr Peter invited others to join the ACRATH letter-writing campaign with a personal letter to the Prime Minister.

“There is a real possibility of movement on this issue, so an avalanche of letters to the Prime Minister is really important right now,” he said. “I encourage you to spare only 15 to 20 minutes asking the PM to intervene in the disgraceful stolen wages of the 22 Vanuatu men. Information on what to include in your letter can be found in the ACRATH Newsletter by clicking on this link: http://acrath.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ACRATH-Newsletter-March-2020.pdf.

This article is drawn from an article by Fr Peter first published in The Columban E-News. Read the full article here.