ACTU push to block access to foreign workers

Unions will press Labor and the Coalition to reduce employer access to temporary visa workers.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith.

Unions will press Labor and the Coalition to reduce employer ­access to temporary visa workers by imposing tougher rules on companies seeking to engage overseas workers.

ACTU secretary Sally McMan­us will today release a five-point plan to reduce the use of “vulnerable” temporary visa workers and increase training and job opportunities for local jobless.

Proposals in an ACTU briefing paper for more stringent labour market testing include the removal of exemptions caused by international trade agreements.

It says temporary migrant workers should be put in contact with unions at the pre-departure and post-arrival points, and the onus of proof should be reversed when an employer has breached pay-slip and record-keeping obligations in all circumstances involving temporary workers.

The ACTU said Australia had a widespread unemployment crisis in many regions, caused by ­an over-reliance on temporary visa workers.

“Australia has an underclass of easily exploitable workers,’’ Ms McManus said. “Now, one in 10 workers in Australia is on a temporary visa. Whether it is farms, construction sites, meat processing factories or in hospitality, temporary visa workers are being exploited. This has to end. Local workers deserve the opportunity to gain secure employment. Jobs must be properly advertised ­locally, and people must be able to get the training they need to pursue these opportunities.”

Unions want temporary visa workers paid market rates and have workplace rights protected.

“There are two major ways in which temporary visa exploitation drives wages down,’’ Ms McMan­us said. “The first is the payment of illegally low wages, which temporary visa holders are uniquely vulnerable to. The second is the payment of rates that while legal are below the prevailing market rates for that role and sector. Our plan would eliminate both.”

The ACTU wants more rigorous labour market testing incorporated into legislation and associated program guidelines.

It says labour market testing should be conducted no more than four months before the nomination of a visa worker. Currently, the time period is 12 months but that period will change to six months from June 18.

For a nomination to be ­approved, the Department of Home Affairs must be satisfied a suitable qualified and experienced Australian is not available to fill the nominated position.

Under its policy, the nominated position has to have been advertised in Australia and include a ­description of the job, the name of the approved sponsor and the annual earnings. Unions want a ban on job advertisements that target only overseas workers or a specified visa class workers to the ­exclusion of Australian citizens and permanent residents. It also wants a crackdown on job ads that set unrealistic requirements for skills and experience.

Ms McManus said the current system of allowing business “wholesale access” to more than one million temporary working visa holders created an unenforceable situation.

“With 200 Fair Work Ombudsman inspectors for a workforce of 14 million people, including 1.4 million working visa holders, there is no realistic prospect of preventing abuses,’’ she said, adding that all political parties would be encouraged to adopt the proposals “to end exploitation”.