Australia’s Asean farm worker visa hits snag – from Malaysia



The Malaysian government has vetoed the possibility of Malaysians working on Australian farms.

The long-awaited Asean farm work visa to Australia to enable Asean skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled farm workers to be employed on Australian farms was ratified by the governor-general last week. Now workers from participating Asean countries will be able to enter into employment agreements with Australian farmers.

Although the legislation is enacted, there are still many unsettled details about precisely how the new visa will work.

Visa hits snag in Malaysia, Cambodia

The new Asean farm worker visa is an employer-sponsored arrangement which is subject to an employment contract meeting specified standards and obligations. However, the Malaysian government, for the first time, has decided to ban Malaysian citizens from working in Australia under this visa.

Deputy human resources minister Awang Hashim told the Dewan Negara last week that Malaysia would not take part in the scheme. Awang declared that the Australian visa was a pathway to permanent residence, and thus not acceptable to the Malaysian government.


In addition, the Australian scheme would compete against the new government’s programme of replacing foreign plantation workers with Malaysian workers. Under the Malaysianisation programme, local workers would be eligible to receive an incentive of RM500 or 20% per month of their wage, based on a minimum wage of RM1,500 per month.

Malaysians have long travelled to Australia to work, often illegally, on Australian farms, earning approximately RM12,000 per month, the majority being Chinese and Indians. With accommodation often provided by farmers, most are able to return home with savings. This appears more lucrative to working on an oil palm plantation for RM2,000, under hard living conditions.

In addition to claiming that the Australian farm worker visa would lead to permanent residence, Awang claimed that both the Australian and Malaysian work was dirty, dangerous, and difficult. However, according to the Australian department of foreign affairs and trade, Australian farm jobs must meet existing occupational health and safety standards, and this visa does not have any path to regional settlement or permanent residence.

Australian farm work is the only overseas work Malaysians have been stopped from engaging. Malaysians are free to work in primary industries in neighbouring Singapore, Brunei, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.

There has been a backlash against human resources minister M Saravanan on social media, with some claiming they have been robbed of a lifetime opportunity because of an irrational decision regarding the Australian visa.

Malaysia is not the only country putting impediments in the way of local workers coming to Australia on the farm work visa.

The ministry of labour and vocational training in Cambodia has indicated that it would want to control worker outflow to Australia. The insertion in Australian legislation of the phrase “participating country” rather than citizens of Asean countries has allowed Asean bureaucracies to add an additional tier of red tape to farm workers coming to Australia to work. This has been shown not to always be in the farm workers’ interests. A network of unscrupulous middlemen is springing up in Asean countries to exploit potential visa applicants.

In effect, Asean bureaucracies have put a dent in what could have been a win-win situation for Australian farmers and Asean farm workers, many suffering from under-employment due to the pandemic. Malaysians will now have to look elsewhere.

sos ketchup + sriracha

This post has been edited by JessicaAlba: Oct 13 2021, 11:21 AM

Lol can dream about getting PR under this scheme. But nowadays can even see koreans picking apples liao.

RM 1,500 vs RM 12,000

This post has been edited by Capt. Marble: Oct 13 2021, 11:08 AM

Got Aus pick apple orange no need use brain still can get rm12k/month. Siapa tak nak

RM 12k in Aus.. Need to pay tax or not?

lol mana sama??? people go there is enjoicing life punya...not really go pick fruits

You all go pick apple, who's gonna pick our palm oil and durian?

australien farm worker kayangan level

MY farm bangla level no eye see

indo and myanmar.

Why choose this work?

most of them cash on hand so tax-free

Camne ni ... ckp ko tak suka ko kluar ... nk kluar tabole plak

A bit funny,
Malaysian go there earn AUD, then bring back Malaysia feed children

In b4 go aussi become bangla

Rm12k?? I tot only 4-6k.

soon will ban Malaysians working in SG and other countries..yahoo

lol takut our rakyat all fly to aus ke

The only way to fix this is to naikkan our ringgit value.
We have to like RM1 = AUD 7 to be able to fight back.

Really a bunch of monkeys in parliament.

Wait .. mana sos?

bangla and indon came here to work as hard labours, does their government scare that one day their citizens become citizens here and don't wanna go back?

This post has been edited by Sinkalan967: Oct 13 2021, 11:16 AM

shd allow only pendatang kluar, earth prince duduk diam2

the visa isn't issued by malaysia... can ban one meh? suka hati Australia kan?

Work as farm worker in MY = RM 1,500
Work as farm worker in AU = RM 12,000 = AUD 3,931

Not sure on the working hour in MY and AU.
Is it possible for farm worker in MY to earn up to RM 4,000?

Btw, this is another issue on weak RM.
Malaysian willing to work as labor (e.g. farm worker, garbage collector, etc) in other countries because of strong currency.

think pluck apples easy ? ...wait till you get there.
unfit fat ass don't bother apply.

these people always want to fuck with poor nons

Majority are jump plane so no tax applied. But if fall sick then ggwp.

But... in Al Jazeera got show Australia farms now finding low wage China workers to farm....

Minimum wage is A$20/hr (rm$60/hr). Work 50 hours a week is rm3k - work 4 weeks pay is rm12k.

Calculation about right.

When are they going to ban NZ working holiday visa?

This post has been edited by Rand: Oct 13 2021, 11:35 AM

do not want
it will make my BTCs appear devalued
owai

MALAYSIA : 1500 + 20% (300) = 1800

VS

AUSSIE RM 12K

the right question is, who the fuck will stay in malaysia if like this?

better get indonesians worker to work here.

cuz indonesian salary vs malaysia salary, of coz they will come to malaysia

Keep privileges to their kind but also want to stop others including EM for better prospects. EM should become the kingmaker n raised up to stop this nonsense. Pity so many EM have to find a living in WM.

Mana Ada 12k? If weather is good maybe you get 6k. During winter, you are lucky u get to work 3 days per week.

Sounds interesting for retirees, but will we be working like slaves there?

not in this lifetime mate....

Good lah, next time Malaysians will have to go Indog to pluck palm oil anyway.

Go check up the real story faced by the fruit plugger before making up your mind. LOL
So many are being oppressed by their employer. Also the racism they have over there.

12k is base on calculation.
but in real life it doesnt haooen in that way.
bad weather, low yield, too many workers.
Mostly u earn about 4-6k per month. After deduct all, u bring back about 1-2k as saving.
The good thing about this job is, not much stress/pressure.
the bad part is, u need the physical to work there.

If this visa can apply onshore in Australia, no way our government can block.

Yes that's what I was thinking.

They are afraid many would leave then one day they can't use nons as bogeyman anymore

Got kena beaten like negro cotton pickers ar

If fail to meet daily quota

Awang declared that the Australian visa was a pathway to permanent residence, and thus not acceptable to the Malaysian government.

pluck apple
got ipong lel

So are we going to ostralia?

despite all the natural wealth, country already running out of money.

actually malaysia have more than enough wealth for everyone here to live a good high quality happy life, everyone can pursue happiness

but sadly not enough for the 1% elite's greed