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| Sacked ... Arjuna Das was expelled from the Canberra temple after complaining about living conditions and low wages. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen |
Arjuna Das, who has lodged a submission for unfair
dismissal with Fair Work Australia, said his crime was criticizing
conditions at the Canberra temple, where he claims residents were not
permitted to use electric heating and resorted to burning wood in
discarded containers to stay warm.
The case has raised questions about how the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness uses Religious Worker (subclass 428)
visas, a sponsored category for institutions that need access to
specific religious skills not readily available in Australia.
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Mr Das, 27, said his fellow devotees in Canberra were
afraid to speak out. ''Even my good friends in temple, they are not
happy with me at the moment, because they say if you do this the
Australian government is going to cancel all our visas,'' he said.
He alleges he was sometimes paid as little as $14 a week
while working 12-hour days, and was forced to sign a salary sacrifice
agreement last year where $30,000 of his $46,000 wage was taken for
expenses such as accommodation. Records show he was paid a total $8284
last financial year.
Mr Das alleges in his submission he was not given adequate food or medical assistance and forced to live in poor conditions.
''I feel like I have no right in this temple but a
slave,'' he wrote to the society in September, requesting to move to a
temple in Cessnock. ''Please forgive me if I did wrong by sending this
email.''
But the following morning, he said he received a phone
call from a representative of the society telling him to pack his bags
immediately and leave or the police would be called.
Within hours, a one-sentence email from the society's
Queensland branch was sent to the Department of Immigration and
Citizenship to withdraw sponsorship for permanent residency of Mr Das.
The society has declined to answer the Herald's questions about the case as it is before Fair Work Australia.
''It is inappropriate for ISKCON [International Society
for Krishna Consciousness] to make any public comment as it may be seen
as an interference in the legal process which ISKCON has faith in,'' its
representative said.
It has also said Mr Das's claims are denied and that the proceedings will be defended.
Mr Das, now on a bridging visa, is being assisted by the
society's former public officer in South Australia, Vivianne Kharel, who
is fighting her own unfair dismissal case against the society in the
Adelaide Magistrates Court.
Ms Kharel said only $388 tax had been deducted from Mr
Das's earnings since he arrived in Australia in 2008. His listed
superannuation fund has no record of an account in his name, despite
deductions appearing on his payslips, she said.
An immigration spokesman said it was aware of allegations
made about the society but would not say whether it was under
investigation.
Mr Das's case was a matter for Fair Work Australia, the department said.
