Another day, another scandal involving the importation of foreign workers to do jobs that Australians could do.
This time the Victorian regional town of Geelong is at forefront. Following the closure of Ford’s engine plant in September, resulting in the loss of around 200 jobs, as well as the closure of the Shell refinery two years back, local workers have been overlooked for jobs at a Geelong construction site in favour of Korean workers brought in on “skilled” 457 visas. From The ABC:
Nearly 100 local welders, boilermakers and other skilled workers have applied for jobs with New World Engineering Construction (NWEC), which has been contracted by the Viva Energy oil refinery to build a new storage tank.
According to the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), all local applicants have been rejected.
The union claims much of the company’s workforce is Korean, here on 457 visas.
“Local people have applied for it. They’ve sent resumes in … They’ve approached the company on the site, saying ‘I work locally, I’m a boilermaker or a welder and I’ve worked before and I desperately need a job’ and they’ve been rejected,” AMWU state organiser Tony Hynds told 7.30…
NWEC was unavailable for an interview, but told 7.30 it employs nine “specialist tank construction workers” on 457 visas at the site. It said its other 41 employees on the job are Australian.
The company said the visa workers have the “extremely specialised welding and boiler making skills” necessary for the tank’s construction.
The report notes how just around the corner from the construction site there is an Australian engineering firm that specialises in the types of skills the site requires. Yet business has been slow for them and they too have been laying off local workers.
The problems with the 457 visa system are well documented and relate to four areas:
- There are way too many occupations on the skills shortages list.
- Those working under the skill level 1 (so-called “Managers and Professionals”) and skill level 2 (so-called “Associate Professionals”) are not subject to any labour market testing to determine whether an Australian can do the job first. Hence, nearly 80% of total 457 visa holders are not currently subject to labour market testing.
- Where labour market testing is required it can be overcome by putting an ad on Facebook or other social media and that is enough to show that you’ve tested the labour market – basically a farce.
- The 457 visa system is not sufficiently responsive either to higher levels of unemployment, or to labour market changes in specific skilled occupations.
These shortcomings have been expertly identified by Dr Joanna Howe, a senior lecturer in law at the University of Adelaide (see here and here) as well as in the recent Senate report entitled A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders.
Given these shortcomings, the Government should immediately implement the recommendations of the aforementioned Senate Report, including:
- indexing the minimum income threshold for 457 visa holders to ordinary weekly earnings, so that it is not eroded over time;
- implementing a more rigorous, independent, evidence-based, and transparent processes for determining the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL);
- implementing stringent labour market testing of all 457 visa nominations to ensure that employers employ locals first wherever possible;
- specifically prohibiting the replacement of local workers by 457 visa workers;
- making employer sponsors of a 457 visa worker (professional) also employ an Australian tertiary graduate in the same enterprise on a one-for-one basis;
- requiring employer sponsors of a 457 visa worker (trade) to demonstrate that apprentices represent 25% of the sponsor’s total trade workforce; and
- implementing a $4,000 training levy paid per 457 visa holder employed in the business.
While the foreign worker scandals mount, the solutions are obvious. The Government must take concrete policy action and fix the deep corruption within the visa system. Otherwise public resentment will continue to grow ultimately culminating in Australia’s own Donald Trump moment.
