PACIFIC Island seasonal workers are being flown into freezing regions of Australia without proper clothing, according to Australian South Sea Islanders Port Jackson president Emelda Davis.
Ms Davis said a group of Pacific seasonal workers arrived in South Australia recently with no proper clothing.
“Imagine from a tropical country only to face freezing conditions, with temperatures dropping from 40 degrees in their home country to minus 10,” she said.
Ms Davis said they were sent straight to the fields the next day without warm clothes.
“They were freezing in the fields.
“They didn’t have the right clothes, and that should have been the responsibility of the labour hire companies or the agents bringing them in.”
Ms Davis said labour hire companies must show a duty of care, ensuring workers were equipped with warm clothing, water bottles and other essentials before they started work in unfamiliar conditions.
“Partnerships with organisations like the Salvation Army could help fill these gaps but labour hire companies must take the lead.”
She said many workers also arrived without understanding the country they were in.
“They need to be educated, not only about their jobs but about the land and culture they are entering.
“They should know who the traditional owners are and understand the importance of welcome-to-country protocols, just as they would respect chiefs in their own villages.”
Ms Davis warned that without this cultural understanding, workers could feel lost and unsafe.
“In small, mostly white townships, the sudden arrival of hundreds of Melanesian workers can also cause fear and tension, and those race issues must be acknowledged, not ignored.”
She believed Pacific nations needed to be more involved in monitoring and measuring the true value their workers bring to Australia.
She said Pacific people were not just labour, they were helping to hold up entire towns.
