CFMEU calls for immigration visa reviews

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Created on Monday, 21 January 2013 16:46

Written by Editorial staff

There has been outrage from a union due to the fact that the number of trade immigration visas has increased - despite a slowdown in the construction sector.

Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) data has found that there has been an increase in the number of trade related 457 visas issued, with union officials arguing that this is a silly move given that so many locals are out of work.

The official figures show that in the three months to the end of October 2012 - there was a 57 per cent increase in 457 trade related visas being issued from the same time in 2011.

This is 4.4 times more than the increase of 457s overall.

Just under half of all construction visa holders worked in New South Wales and Victoria.

National construction division secretary with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) Dave Noonan said that immigration minister Chris Bowen should address this matter by temporarily freezing all 457 visas until there is a review of the system.

He commented: "This increase in the use of temporary visa workers is ridiculous at a time when 68,000 jobs have been lost in construction in the last year and many skilled construction workers are looking for work.

"It is clear that the current system is being misused by employers to create a pool of cheap guest workers. The CFMEU supports an appropriate skilled migration program, but we do not support the excessive use of temporary visas when there are Australians with the necessary skills looking for work. "

Mr Noonan added that this creates a culture of fear because visa employees are reliant on their employers to continue living in Australia and as a result they cannot speak up about any illegal practises such as underpaying.

And due to this potential of abuse in the system, employers are able to seek out cheaper foreign workers over local ones - a practice that no current legislation addresses.

The CFMEU spokesperson added that only four per cent of these trade visas were audited by the DIAC to ensure that full wages were being paid.

This is despite reports in the Daily Telegraph that the DIAC has issued 134 sanctions and penalties for breaches of the 457 visa by employees in the second half of 2012 - roughly the same number as the corresponding period in 2011.