Indian students in Victoria getting paid ridiculously low wages

Victoria, June 12 : A study by Monash and Melboune university academics has said that around 60 per cent of students in Victoria were paid below 15 dollars an hour and around 35 per cent get 10 dollars an hour.

A 3-million dollars Australian Research Council-funded study was conducted a month after hundreds of taxi drivers, many of whom were students from India, protested against conditions in their industry outside Flinders Street station.

The survey was drawn after interviewing 200 international students form nine universities across Victoria.

International students are pressurised to opt for jobs rejected by domestic workers.

One third of them work more than the 20 hours and are allowed under study visas, forcing them to take jobs, which have no industrial relations protection.

The problems started in 1991 when international students rights in the workplace were narrowly defined as the "right to work" by the federal government.

Professor Chris Nyland, who is one of the academics, involved in the study said: "The Rudd Government has shown no sign of recognising this as an issue," Professor Nyland said.

"There was a 94-page higher education discussion document (from the Rudd Government) that was issued. I have gone through that and there is lots of references to international education, lots of references to international student fees, nothing in there about international student welfare," Nyland added.

Victorian Workplace Rights Advocate Tony Lawrence said he has received some complaints by the international students and was aware of some employers asking 200 dollars for certificates verifying employment, which is often needed as part of immigration conditions.

ANI