When news broke last year of systemic exploitation at 7-Eleven, Australians were shocked, but for many international students the wages were not so surprising.
Underpayment is not limited to the multinational company — students working in hospitality, retail and cleaning told Story Hunters it was an accepted part of life in Australia.
Former international student Kenny said he worked his way through his degree at a popular Chinese restaurant for $8 an hour.
"Most Australians would find that shocking — that's not much money at all," he said.
International students can legally work 20 hours a week during the semester, but many say the low pay means they have to work more just to get by.
"We know that it's illegal — if the Government finds out we'd be kicked out. We know the employer is doing the wrong thing … we can't complain. Too many students are looking for work," he said.
Kenny, from China, said working for $8 to $12 an hour was common amongst his peers, particularly those from Asian countries, but he said in his experience Vietnamese students were particularly susceptible to exploitation in the workplace.
Story Hunters joined two Facebook groups of 41,000 students from Vietnam and asked them: what is it like working part-time while studying in Australia?
Around 60 students commented, emailed or messaged with their stories within three days, and more than 500 people responded to two polls, with two-thirds saying they were paid under the minimum wage.
Four students — Chi, Daniel, Vincent and Darren — agreed to speak to us in person, under varying conditions of anonymity.
Vietnamese students turn to ex-pat community
Arriving in Australia can be a daunting and lonely experience for an international student.
For many Vietnamese students, it is their first time away from home and Australian English is vastly different to the American pronunciation that they learnt at school.
"I could not even order KFC when I first came here, because they couldn't understand me and I couldn't understand them either," Darren said.
Darren said the experience rocked his confidence and, in need of work, he turned to the established Vietnamese community, who offered him a job waiting tables for $12 an hour.
"I thought that when people speak Vietnamese with each other, they would treat me way better — but the opposite turned out to be true," he said.
"When I speak Vietnamese they just abuse me because they think that I don't have the ability to talk English to communicate with others and tell my story."
Vincent said business owners assumed students like him would accept below-award wages because the average rate of pay in Vietnam was so much lower.
"They say 'you should be happy, because in your country think of how much you can earn, and now how much do we pay you'," Vincent said.
Even as the students were discussing their frustration with the system, employers were advertising positions for as little as $10 to them on the same Facebook group.
"Most of us when we work for mostly Vietnamese-Australian owners … it's very rare for us to get the $12 an hour if we don't have any experience, mostly it's about $8 - $10," Chi said.
"Those very first days in my work, I felt like when I came back from work I didn't want to talk to anyone, I just wanted to lay on my bed and cry alone, because I didn't expect that. It's really terrible."
When we met Chi she was working at a bakery for $8 an hour. It was her first job since arriving here four months ago.
The way she was treated by the Vietnamese owner shocked her.
She said she was expected to come in with no notice, worked 12-hour shifts without meal breaks and was regularly abused by management.
"In Vietnam my parents own a fashion shop and they do hire people but never in my life have I seen them yell at their employees," she said.
"Never in my life have I seen this kind of thing happen.
"I can't say that every Vietnamese boss in Australia is like that, but it's not just me, it's not just my boss. Many Vietnamese students have experiences like this."
Daniel said his first job in Australia at a Thai restaurant paid just $9 an hour.
"It was my first job and I don't know how to report him, and other workers with me were paid $9 so I thought it was normal," he said.
"I don't want to go to any Vietnamese restaurant in Australia to eat anymore because I'm afraid that behind that bowl of food there's a scene of the employer exploiting another Vietnamese student," Chi said.
Forum
Pages: 1 
