And the winner is... Alessandro Bellomunno with his subclass 457 visa!
Alessandro, we’re very glad you could be here today to receive this prize. Everyone is asking, what is this 457?
457? 457 is the average amount of unpaid extra hours I had to work every quarter for the length of my visa to be here today. Thanks to this number I was able to win the Visa Slavery Contest.
You’re right and congratulations again. It was hard to find another contestant when you have put such an effort, we couldn’t find anyone who put in for multiple years over the double of their weekly working hours and get paid only for 38. What a win! Is there anything you’d like to say to other Italian contestants out there around the world?
Hang in there, resist, push forward... Real life begins after the visa! But please, don't wait until you've finally broken those chains and freed yourself to speak out. Don't make the same mistake I did; afraid of risking my family's well-being, I couldn't find the courage to speak out. Don't focus only on labor exploitation in Italy; let's all become more aware of the conditions our fellow Italians are forced to work under when they go abroad seeking fortune.
The visa bullying is dead, long live the visa bullying.
