Low-paid migrants 'better than unemployed Australians'

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Created on Monday, 16 July 2012 14:25

Written by Editorial staff

Low-paid migrant workers could be the answer to filling jobs such as cooks, waiters and kitchen-hands, as opposed to unemployed locals.

This is according to a number of industry experts, who believe that restrictions on migrant visas need to be dropped to assist the tourism sector.

Making a submission to the federal government, various groups have warned that tourist hotspots such as Melbourne could be at risk unless more workers are found, News Limited sources reveal.

There is already a job shortfall of 36,000, which has the potential to increase by a further 20,000 over the next four years - especially in regional areas - unless decisive action is taken.

Restaurant and Catering Australia (RCA) is among those organisations putting pressure on the government, as it believes relaxing the English language requirement of some visas will bring various benefits.

It explained that workers at some catering businesses and restaurants are not able to communicate in English anyway.

"Given the profile of the available jobs, immigration may be a better longer-term source of labour," an RCA representative told the news agency.

Experts have indicated that a new tourism labour agreement is a good idea, as these can help industry members overcome some of the restrictions imposed by 457 visas.

The visas can only apply to those in skilled jobs who are earning in excess of $49,300 - estimates show that a waiter's yearly wage stands at around $33,800.

Earlier this year, minister for tourism Martin Ferguson and immigration minister Chris Bowen asked for public comment on a new template labour agreement to assist the tourism and hospitality sectors.

The template was designed to assist with the easing of labour and skills pressures by helping the industries attract and retain labour in positions where critical shortages had been identified.

These included bar attendants, hotel managers and experienced waiters and chefs.

"Approved employers could nominate workers for temporary skilled subclass 457 visas using the template, enabling workers to be granted visas where they meet the requirements," Mr Bowen announced at the time.

He said that the initiative aims to strike a balance between maintaining the integrity of the visa system, while improving employers' access to workers.

Regional areas of Australia were identified as being at the greatest risk of a skilled labour shortage, especially as tourism injects as much as $35 billion a year into the national economy.