The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has banned an Australian national from entering the country for maltreating a Filipino couple whom he had hired to work at his motel in Australia.
Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan on Wednesday issued the order placing Julian Simone in the bureau’s blacklist after receiving a report from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) about the unjust treatment that the Australian allegedly committed against his Filipino employees.
The DFA described Simone as an undesirable alien based on the complaint of Loreto Trocio and his wife Marilou who accused their former employer of unjust labor practices by forcing them to perform long hours of work in his hotel at a very low pay.
Libanan said it is only right that Simone should be banned from re-entering the Philippines to prevent him from maltreating other Filipinos whom he might also hire to work for his business.
According to DFA Assistant Secretary Renato Villapando, a foreign service circular has been issued instructing all Philippine missions abroad not to issue any visa to Simone.
In their complaint to the Philippine consulate in Sydney, the Trocios said they met Simone at their hometown in Davao City. And after being friendly with them for two years, Simone asked them to work for him in Australia.
They said they started working for Simone at his motel in Artamon, New South Wales in October 2008 where they were obliged to work from 7:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening, and sometimes up to 10 p.m. without any overtime pay.
And while the prevailing wage rate then was 18 to 20 Australian dollars per hour, they were paid only 11 Australian dollars an hour, the Trocios said.
The couple also complained of being forced to work even during weekends and that they were not given any free accommodation but instead were charged 48 Australian dollars a week for their room.
The couple resigned from their work in March last year and went back home.
But even when they were back in Davao, Simone allegedly continued to bully, intimidate, threaten them and their family, the couple said. (PNA)
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