27 June 2006 Campsie worker owed thousands by building contractor A Korean guest worker, living in Campsie, is protesting outside the Artarmon office of building contractor Kyo Group in a bid to recover thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and superannuation. The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union is supporting the worker, and believes his plight highlights the lack of protection given to temporary guest workers by the Federal Government. Seo Jung Sub, a 52 year old ceramic tiler, was employed by Kyo Group for a year before he was injured at work on January 16 this year. His employer then refused to pay workers compensation and threatened to cancel the sponsorship of Mr Seo’s work visa if he complained. “I have a wife and family in Korea, and I came to Australia to work in the hope that I could provide a better life for them, but instead I have been taken advantage of,” Mr Seo said. “Kyo Group has refused to help me since I was injured while working for them. Now I have also found out that they were breaking the law by not paying proper superannuation, or paying me for overtime, sick days or public holidays.” CFMEU NSW Secretary Andrew Ferguson said the treatment of Mr Seo, employed on a four year work visa, exposed the level of exploitation often suffered by guest workers in Australia. “Mr Seo worked at least 10 hours a day, six days a week, but he did not receive his basic legal entitlements to superannuation, overtime pay, annual leave or sick days,” he said. “The Howard Government has opened our borders to hundreds of thousands of guest workers, but they have failed to put proper protections in place to make sure workers like Mr Seo are paid properly, rather than being used as cheap labour. “Luckily this workers contacted the union and we are helping him recover unpaid wages from Kyo Group, but many guest workers do not know where to turn for help, and those who complain often have their visas cancelled and are deported from the country. “It is about time the Howard Government stopped eroding workers rights, and instead implemented a system with proper protections for all working people living in this country.” Media contact: Tim Vollmer (CFMEU Media Officer) 0404 273 313 Hyun Soo Lee (CFMEU Organiser) 0431 039 411 En Won Lee (CFMEU Organiser) 0433 045 456