Some Irish people applying for jobs in Australia are being told âwe only hire Australiansâ, an RTÃ documentary reveals tonight.
Jake Haynes from Dublin tells viewers: âIn Ireland I just finished in UCD, the year before I came and I thought when I came out here I would be able to use my degree but all the places I applied for were like âwe only hire Australian peopleâ. If you said that at home in Ireland â we only hire Irish people â there would be uproarâ.
Later in the programme, Jake, who travelled to Australia on a working holiday visa, warns viewers: âThey paint this picture of âitâs all cocktails and beachesâ but itâs really not. There really is an untold side to the story. Some people survive over here but some people donâtâ.
Making it Down Under is a documentary series on RTÃ One detailing the experiences of Irish people who have emigrated to Australia for work.
On tonightâs episode Jakeâs best friend, Philip Healy from Co Louth, also talks about the dark side of working in Oz.
Philip, who has been living in Australia for more than year and is employed with a Sydney hairdressers, tells the Making it Down Under cameras that Irish backpackers can be exploited by unscrupulous employers.
âYou can get used here,â Philip says. âSome people can see âbackpacker, get themâ. It has happened to people that I know.
âUnderpay them, work them way over the hours that they are supposed to be working, donât get holiday pay… They will use you, they will work you into the ground but they know that the Irish are the best workers, so, they will try to get what they can out of youâ.
Making it Down Under airs tonight on RTÃ One at 8.30pm.
