Abbott Govt quietly reopens 457 visa loophole removing all ”red tape”

[fourandsixpants]

By Leith van Onselen I noted a few weeks back how the Abbott Government had announced a review of 457 visas for ­temporary foreign skilled workers, which looked as if it would unwind conditions enacted by the former Labor Government, such as the requirement that a job must be advertised locally before a 457 visa is issued. Now Fairfax is reporting that the Abbott Government has quietly reopened a visa loophole that will allow employers to hire an unlimited number of foreign workers under a temporary working visa, potentially opening the system to widespread rorting:

In the Coalition’s bid to remove all ”red tape” from the 457 skilled migrant visa, employers will not be penalised or scrutinised if they hire more foreign staff than they applied for. Before the loophole was closed in 2013 by the Labor government, companies in the mining, construction and IT industries were knowingly hiring hundreds more foreign workers than they had applied for… A discussion paper in 2012 also found there was no restriction to the number of 457 workers a company could nominate once a sponsorship is approved.

The Coalition’s liberalisation of 457 visas is curious on a number of levels. First, as noted in the Department of Employment’s latest labour shortages report, “skill shortages continued to abate” and employers in 2013 “generally filled their vacancies with ease and had large fields of applicants from whom to choose” (see next chart). Second, unemployment is at the highest level in 10 years and likely to deteriorate further. In addition, the labour force participation rate is falling (suggesting hidden employment), and there is substantial under-employment (see below charts). With the mining investment boom set to unwind over the next few years, along with the closure of the local car industry, labour surpluses are only likely to increase. Clearly, based on the data, there are few genuine skills shortages, undermining the need for 457 visas at all. Therefore, the Coalition’s loosening of 457 visa requirements looks like another measure aimed squarely at undermining local workers’ pay and conditions, while at the same time keeping the throttle on population growth and capital’s share of profits. unconventionaleconomist@hotmail.com www.twitter.com/leithvo

[boris1gary]

yes abbott's removing "red tape" campaign - "red tape"  it seems is anything that protects workers.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/red-tape-swath-raises-fears-of-the-sweatshop-20140329-35qez.html

'Red tape' swath raises fears of the sweatshop

Rules that helped ensure Australia's clothing makers did not use sweatshop labour were needlessly discarded as part of the government's so-called ''red tape'' cuts, the union representing textile workers says.

Employment Minister Eric Abetz on Friday announced a review of the 2012 laws, which extended to outworkers' entitlements, such as minimum rates of pay, sick leave and annual leave, which already covered other workers under the Fair Work Act .

Senator Abetz said the review, to be completed by the Department of Employment by July 1, was an opportunity to ensure that the act was ''effective and efficient'' and provided both adequate protection for workers and ''a reasonable regulatory framework'' for business.

But Michele O'Neil, the national secretary of the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia, said the review showed that the Abbott government was deliberately trying to dismantle important protections ''for some of the lowest-paid and most vulnerable workers in the country''.

[fourandsixpants]

TA and his Govt are hypocrites with huge, big, pointy bladed, sharp scissors.

[izabsmiling]

opens the gap to have more illegals (true illegals as in visa overstayers)

opens the gap for more Aussie jobs to go to cheap labour

removes tape ... all more open to all sorts of abuse........

He sacked them for pleading for water

Date March 13, 2010

Backpackers are victims of rogue operators in the fruitpicking industry, writes Rick Feneley.

The pickers know him only as Max, but their stories are remarkably consistent. ''Pick faster,'' he screams. ''Hurry, pickers. Work with two hands. Faster, workers, or you won't be paid.''

''You feel like a slave,'' says Martin Pflaamenger, 22, a German backpacker.

He was one of several fruitpickers sacked while picking tomatoes on a farm near Bundaberg on February 16. The reason? They had pleaded for water after hours in the intense Queensland sun. Mehmet ''Max'' Tosun sacked them on the spot.

Only three months ago another German backpacker, Jessica Pera, 24, collapsed and died while working on a nearby farm. The coroner is investigating dehydration or heat exhaustion as possible causes of death. By all accounts to the Herald, that farm takes good care of workers. It insists they drink plenty of water.

The same cannot be said for the way Tosun does business. He and his wife, Calie, are a formidable team in Bundaberg. He is 27, she 23. Since October they have been running East Bundy Backpackers - a source of labour for Max's other business. He is a labour hire contractor for farms, which need a constant supply of fruitpickers.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/he-sacked-them-for-pleading-for-water-20100312-q45l.html#ixzz2xgFu384...

[izabsmiling]

I have had friends from Interstate who are travelling Australia stay with us recently..they want and haven't been able to find fruit picking jobs while they have been in Vic.They have been told most pickers are on visa and are contracted out . they are cheaper labour .

[fourandsixpants]

Yes Izab.

ref.

opens the gap to have more illegals (true illegals as in visa overstayers)

opens the gap for more Aussie jobs to go to cheap labour

removes tape ... all more open to all sorts of abuse........

What gets my goat is locally, the young folk and adults who need part-time work, casual and even fulltime cannot get it because all the jobs go to the 457's.......it's cheaper on this 'rort' system, for the employer, to employ a 457 visa holder on a fulltime basis than it is to employ a local Aussie. e.g. the big name fast food outlets, meatworks,abbatoirs, dairies etc are some of the groups who take advantage of this 'rort' all to the detriment of local Aussies.

How are the 'employment' figures going to be 'adjusted' to cover this lil' operation up me wonders?

[izabsmiling]

yes...and there is a BIG difference imo to having a working holiday and putting back in to our economy 

to being purposefully brought in ONLY to do that job for a Contractor here in Australia 

my 18 year old went looking for picking jobs with my Australian vistors ...no success

My friends are off to NSW now to look for harvesting work though it looks like it could be the same deal there

[boris1gary · Accepted solution]

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@paintsew007 wrote:

TA and his Govt are hypocrites with huge, big, pointy bladed, sharp scissors.

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A lot of favours for mates and thank yous for getting them in.

[freakiness]

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@paintsew007 wrote:

What gets my goat is locally, the young folk and adults who need part-time work, casual and even fulltime cannot get it because all the jobs go to the 457's.......it's cheaper on this 'rort' system, for the employer, to employ a 457 visa holder on a fulltime basis than it is to employ a local Aussie. e.g. the big name fast food outlets, meatworks,abbatoirs, dairies etc are some of the groups who take advantage of this 'rort' all to the detriment of local Aussies.

How are the 'employment' figures going to be 'adjusted' to cover this lil' operation up me wonders?

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Yes, it's the same here. We have high unemployment and other people seeking the jobs and they do a story in the paper about the cheap Tongan imports for the season using the excuse that locals don't want the work and only apply because they have to.  Not a single applicant that I know has applied because "they have to". They're not on benefits and just wanted the seasonal work.