Judge warns many could be snared by slavery laws
Karen Kissane; 14/5/08
Australia’s anti-slavery laws could be interpreted in a way that netted employers who exploit workers, High Court justice Michael Kirby has warned. Speaking from the bench in a sex-slavery case yesterday, he said if the court did not define “slavery” with care, “then a lot of harsh employment contracts are going to slip over into ’slavery’ and are going to be prosecuted with a potential of 25 years’ imprisonment on conviction”. “There are an awful lot of people in this country working in back rooms of restaurants and in the rag trade (whose employers) would be susceptible to … prosecutions for slavery, and that cannot be what Parliament intended,” Justice Kirby said.
Tags: Australia, Human Rights, Workers