CFMEU says Hungarian workers on 457 visa told to go home after complaining about pay rates

Updated

The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) says a group of workers on 457 visas are being sent home after questioning their pay rates.

About 20 Hungarian riggers brought in on 457 visas to work on the construction of a warehouse at Eastern Creek in Sydney's west say they are being paid less than the award wage.

The steel riggers are employed by a Hungarian company and contracted to a major Australian construction firm.

The CMFEU says they are investigating claims the workers are being paid less than $15 an hour.

The men have been working at the Eastern Creek site for four months and say they have not seen a payslip.

CFMEU spokesman Rebel Hanlon says some of the workers have been sent packing after they raised concerns about their pay.

"Four workers that approached the union were given an aeroplane ticket to fly home no later than Sunday [today]," he said.

"They were told to get out of the country ... quite clearly this employer is in breach of the way these workers are being paid.

"We're very concerned about this and we do not believe that this is an isolated case."

Mr Hanlon says conditions are so poor - that after one of the workers was injured he was told he would have to pay for treatment himself.

"The worker has got a cut and needed stitches and he was told 'Go pay for the doctor yourself, look after it yourself,'" he said.

"We've got numerous breaches of the Migration Act, of the 457 act in ensuring that these workers are actually looked after."

Topics: unions, work, immigration, eastern-creek-2766, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

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