Members of the Fijian government will visit Australia in October to investigate claims of racism, bullying, unsafe practices, and exploitation in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.
The international investigation has been raised following the death of 24-year-old Fijian woman Christine Lewailagi who died of a brain tumour in June.
Ms Lewailagi had spent two years in Australia on the PALM scheme, working in the regional Victorian city of Warrnambool.
In the wake of her death, Ms Lewailagi’s next of kin in Australia have revealed numerous allegations of racism and poor treatment of PALM workers across Australia, including threats of termination and accusations of restrictions around accessing health care and sick leave.
It has prompted an investigation by the Fijian government which has committed to focusing on issues including unfair termination and forced labour.
Chance of a lifetime
Ross Johnston said he helped fund Christine’s travel around Australia. (Supplied: Ross Johnston)
Christine Lewailagi came to to Australia full of hope and vitality.
The 24-year-old left her village near Suva in Fiji to work in Australia in 2022, accepting work at The Midfield Group in Warrnambool, around three hours west of Melbourne.
It was seen as the chance of a lifetime, an opportunity to see a new country while sending home much needed funds for her parents, siblings, and cousins back home.
Mr Johnston said Christine Lewailagi enjoyed travelling Australia. (Supplied: Ross Johnston)
When Ross Johnston, a family friend and Ms Lewailagi’s next of kin in Australia, visited her home in Warrnambool to collect her possessions, he was astounded.
Ms Lewailagi never complained to Mr Johnston about her illness, and it is not clear how long she was sick for before her death, nor the amount of time that passed between her symptoms appearing and her seeking treatment.
Ms Lewailagi’s friends saw her death as a chance to speak out about the plight of PALM workers across Australia that Mr Johnston equated to “modern slavery”.
“She told me it was very hard physically, but she was young and Fijian and strong, and she would survive,” Mr Johnston said.
“She didn’t tell me a lot because I don’t think she wanted to worry me.”
Mr Johnston said the shared grief of Ms Lewailagi’s passing allowed her co-workers and friends to share horrific stories of racist treatment, bullying, and threats of deportation towards PALM workers across Australia.
Under fire
Fiji is the largest supplier of workers to the scheme, according to federal government figures.
As of June, there were 6,379 Fijian PALM workers in Australia, a significant jump from five years earlier when there was just 226.
A total of 22 workers have died while taking part in the scheme between June 1, 2023, to June 27, 2024, according to the federal government.
Christine Lewailagi travelled Australia during her time away from work. (Supplied: Ross Johnston)
The Fijian government revealed it had received a report days before her passing that Ms Lewailagi had been suffering headaches and had been taken to hospital for assessment.
Two days after it received that report Ms Lewailagi died after undergoing two surgeries for a brain tumour.
Her body was repatriated back to Fiji for burial on July 6.
“Maybe if it was easier for her to go and get medical treatment maybe she could have been saved,” Mr Johnston said.
“But everything you hear from people on these visas is that getting medical help is very hard because they’re reliant on their employer letting them to go see a doctor.”
Midfield Group general manager Dean McKenna said Ms Lewailagi’s death was mourned by the entire Warrnambool community, including the 450 Pacific Island workers at Midfield.
“We are aware of allegations circulating on social media about the employment conditions at Midfield in relation to PALM workers,” Mr McKenna said.
“For the record, we completely reject those allegations and the fact we have a waitlist of PALM workers waiting to join Midfield demonstrates that the scheme is working in the sense of a functioning mutual partnership.”
Mr Johnston did not make any allegations about Ms Lewailagi’s experience at Midfield, but said her friends had expressed concerns about conditions and experiences while in Australia under the PALM scheme.
Ross Johnston helped Christine Lewailagi to travel Australia. (Supplied: Ross Johnston)
He said that at least 10 workers, speaking to him on the condition on anonymity, had revealed experience of appalling treatment including supervisors using racist and derogatory language, employers withholding access to medical leave, and one instance of an entire animal carcass allegedly falling on a worker.
Mr Johnston said workers were told they needed permission from their employer to visit a doctor and that at times medical leave was deducted from annual leave.
He said workers were threatened with termination and deportation if they did not comply with “unreasonable work requests” and that others were forced to work while injured.
Visit scheduled
Within hours of Mr Johnston sharing the workers’ stories, word had reached their homeland.
Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka shared a post on social media stating his government was aware of her death and Mr Johnston’s comments, and that Fiji’s Australian-based representatives were working to ensure all issues are “properly investigated and resolved”.
Christine Lewailagi enjoyed travelling and spending time with her friends (Supplied: Ross Johnston)
“The ministry is fully aware of the situation,” the statement read.
“The Fiji government, through the Ministry of Employment, will be visiting our PALM workers in Australia in October to discuss their concerns and improve oversight of the program. This includes addressing issues like racism, bullying, unsafe practices, and exploitation.”
The Australia government has been contacted for comment.
Hope from heartbreak
Mr Johnston is still struggling with the death of the woman he considered a firm part of his family.
Ms Lewailagi visited his Melbourne home every weekend. She called him grandfather, and he called her his Fijian granddaughter.
She had dreams of returning to Australia to work in aged care after her stint on the PALM visa expired.
“She was a really good-hearted person, she’d do anything for anybody,” he said.
Mr Johnston said some workers feared reprisals for things as small as “liking” the post he shared on social media about Ms Lewailagi’s death.
He said he wanted to ensure the workers stories were heard, insisting their plight was a national issue.
“It’s just a matter of being heard and maybe getting the politicians to actually do something, which is pretty hard to do,” he said.
“The whole [PALM] visa program is flawed because workers can’t enforce their rights and they’re being abused in many workplaces across the country.”
