Domestic workers failed by Australia
Never having visited another country, Priyanka Danaratna enthusiastically accepted an offer to move from Sri Lanka to Australia to work as a domestic worker for a diplomat. However, Priyanka’s excitement was short lived as upon arrival, she was asked to hand over her passport. Priyanka worked 7 days a week, up to 14 hours per day, for only 65 cents an hour. As reported by the Guardian, David Hillard who represented Danaratna before the federal court said, “How do we describe this as anything other than slavery?”
Diplomat and Sri Lankan Government refuse to pay
For three years, Priyanka worked in the home of Himalee Subhashini de Silya Arunatilaka, the then-deputy high commissioner of Sri Lanka. In 2015, Australia’s minimum wage was $17.29 per hour, yet Danaratna was paid a meager 65 cents an hour for her work between 2015 and 2018.
Priyanka was not given unpaid time off and only took two days off due to being hospitalized for burns sustained while cooking. She stated in court that her employer was not impolite and never threatened her, but did not provide her with satisfactory clothing and food.
Priyanka added:
“I did not feel like I was being treated properly.”