‘Bulls**t’: CFMEU attacks claim of tradie shortage in Australia

Despite a critical housing shortage and a suite of construction liquidations, a powerful union says there is no tradie shortage - only a plan to bring in migrant workers.

The union juggernaut CFMEU claims there is no tradie shortage in Australia as the independent Jobs and Skills Australia mulls which trades need to be put on the visa fast-track channel.

Union national secretary Zach Smith said data had been twisted to show Australia needed more overseas labour.

“(It is) bulls**t that is designed to hurt Australian workers,” Mr Smith said.

“The most in-demand job in the sector is construction managers – not people on the tools building the homes, offices and infrastructure Australia needs.”

CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith disputes claims there are tradie shortages. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

This week a draft list of what skills will likely end up on Australia’s core skills list was released.

The core skills list sets out which workers are eligible for the new Skills in Demand Visa, which replaces the Temporary Skills Shortage Visa in late-2024, with the program considered a fast-track for workers the country needs urgently.

This draft list, prepared by independent body Jobs and Skills Australia, put yoga teachers, dog handlers and jewellery designers above trades such as painters, roof tilers, bricklayers, and stonemasons.

Those trades were put on a list requiring “more consultation”.

A government source told NewsWire that many trades on the “more consultation” list had histories of worker exploitation, so more work was needed to ensure protection of migrant workers.

The federal government will likely receive advice that electricians, industrial engineers, carpenters, environmental consultants, building inspectors, surveyors, welders and sheet metal workers should be put on the visa fast-track list. Picture: NewsWire / Dan Peled

The federal and state governments all have lofty targets in terms of new houses built. The federal government’s target is building 1.2 million new, well-located homes in the space of five years from July 1.

Industry analysts forecast Australia needs 90,000 more tradies as soon as possible to reach that goal.

The CFMEU argued job advertisement data dispels the “myth” of a large tradie shortage.

The Victorian government slashed the public infrastructure spend in its budget last month. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

“We have exposed the blatant lie that Australia is suffering from a tradie shortage that must be fixed through migration,” the CFMEU national secretary said.

The “vast majority” of building and construction-related jobs have an indicative vacancy rate of less than 1 per cent, the union research finds.

In February, there were 56 ads for plasterers – a profession employing 27,600 people nationally.

There are about 30,000 bricklayers and stonemasons employed in Australia, the union says, but only 111 job ads, which indicates a vacancy rate of 0.4 per cent.

Under a Best Practice Industry Conditions policy in Queensland, construction workers get perks like double time when it rains, a full month of rostered days off each year, and an extra $1000 a week when working away from home. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Vacancies for plumbers, tilers, fencers, carpenters and joiners, insulation and home improvement installers were all lower than 1 per cent, the CFMEU said.

More than 1300 Australian construction companies went into liquidation or administration in the second half of 2023.

A CFMEU spokesman said a lot of the business collapses were smaller firms, not tier 1 companies that are building swathes of major infrastructure across the country.