Six Fijians under seasonal worker scheme walk off their jobs

Six Fijians who went to Australia under the seasonal worker scheme have walked off the farm after complaining they were underpaid and mistreated.

The Ministry of Employment says one worker returned home while six are still in Australia.

According to the Ministry, the Fijian Embassy in Australia is now handling this case.

They say there are more than 100 workers from Fiji who are employed by Plant Grow Pick Ltd and only seven workers complained about their wages and absconded.

The Ministry of Employment says an investigation revealed that the workers were paid based on their productivity and not on fixed salary.

They say the short term employment of six months has an approximate net monetary return of 8,929 Australian dollars per Fijian worker.

According to the Ministry they need to select the right people with a focused mindset so that they can meet the employers’ expectations for the seasonal worker scheme.