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Quick Australian Visas for Foreign Workers
February 1, 2011 – The massive Queensland flood rebuilding program will target to overtake overseas workers and unemployed ones. It is reported that visa Australian approval will be sped up to just five days. It will be benefited also by temporary overseas workers in which if employers are unable to find skilled local workers to do the job.
This speeding up of the ”457” working Australia visa program has brought unhappiness to unions as this could be used to lessen local wages and was ripe for exploitation. But on the other hand, business groups warmly welcomed the said proposal as it would prevent a skills-shortage and wage pressure as Queensland rebuilds roads and rail. This is also said to compete with the mining industry for labour.
In the past, employer-sponsored visa category has been lobbied by construction unions.The reason is that they believed that abused in the building industry would bring in large numbers of low-paid Chinese workers in sham contracting scams. According to ACTU President, Ged Kearney, the 457 visas should only qualify for Queensland projects where there was a genuine need. Definitely, no one wants to see a return to that kind of abuses which was seen under the former Coalition government. It was where unscrupulous employers where allowed to exploit overseas workers.
David Oliver, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary said that the government wants to make sure that they have the right checks and balances plus the proper market rates should be being paid. Speeding up of visas such as holiday Australia visa approvals is the right call as per Heather Ridout, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group. This move was also approved the Business Council of Australia. This also aims to tighten the list of applicable 457 occupations in the wake of the financial crisis.
The Queensland flood recovery measures is said to also boost the ability of local jobseekers to fill vacancies on these rebuilding projects. $6000 incentives are be paid up to single job-seekers who have been out of work for three months and $9000 to families who moved to a regional Queensland are to take a job. Relocation priority would for those who are in flood areas and job-seekers who are willing to move for 6 months enlisted.
Source:
smh.com.au
