The issues we have encountered are certainly not new. For many years now, some migrant workers in our country have been working and living under poor, or even miserable, conditions. This situation is fuelled by the way the market works: a large number of temporary employment agencies want to survive in a market that demands ever lower prices.
Poor defence
The cost savings required in this context are often passed on to migrant workers. Due to their weak position, they rarely put up a defence against this. Research carried out by Comensha and Fairwork has shown that only about 1 in 6 migrant workers who are aware of illegalities will turn to the authorities.
In addition, there is a large group of people who do not realise they are victims of exploitation, or who perhaps refuse to realise it. Add to this the fact that the government has a limited capacity for investigation and supervision, and that hirers adopt a predominantly passive attitude, and it becomes clear how certain situations can continue to exist.
Empowerment through insight
Lexilu offers migrant workers insights into their rights and obligations. This helps them to know when something is wrong in their working or living conditions and what they can do about it. In addition, Lexilu connects its insights into labour conditions, temporary employment agencies and hirers to each other, so that migrant workers can make informed decisions about where and through whom they would like to work.
Migrant workers are no longer at the mercy of the market. They are given tools to steer their own working lives in the desired direction and thus indirectly bring about changes in the market as a whole.