Vanuatu's Commissioner of Labour Lionel Kaluat has asked Vanuatu police and the Australian Federal Police to locate the five Vanuatu seasonal workers who have absconded in Victoria.
Lionel Kaluat Photo: RNZI/ Len Garae
He wants them returned to Vanuatu without delay.
The commissioner said the five men were now illegal immigrants as the Australian Government had cancelled their visas.
He said there were suspicions the men were now with another contractor in Victoria but this had to be confirmed.
Mr Kaluat said he suspected a Tongan man had promised to find them work on another farm with better pay.
But he said the men's contracts were only valid with their official employer and became invalid the moment they breached it.
He said it was not right that five bad apples should be allowed to spoil the whole bag.
Vanuatu has more than 1000 seasonal workers working on farms in Australia.
