CFMEU: Foreign workers scam

Dozens of Sydney construction companies are severely under-paying foreign workers, including illegals, saving tens of thousands of dollars and escaping punishment by federal authorities, the industry's union says.

Some temporary foreign workers, mostly from China and Korea as well as British backpackers, get away with using each others' safety induction cards because subcontractors fail to check their credentials or turn a blind eye to keep costs down, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union says.

The CFMEU NSW is pursuing about 20 Sydney companies for underpaying temporary foreign workers, including illegals.

The Department of Immigration issued 609 Illegal Worker Warning Notices to employers regarding individual workers in 2009-10. Of the companies warned, 84 received more than one notice, thus facing criminal prosecution with fines of up to $66,000 per illegal worker. Yet there has been only one criminal prosecution.

The union's state secretary, Malcolm Tulloch, said up to 40 construction sites in Sydney routinely use illegal workers, with some paid as little as $3 an hour.

There are 13,000 temporary foreign workers in construction in NSW, including 3000 working illegally, the union estimates.

''The Immigration Department is absolutely overwhelmed with this,'' Mr Tulloch said. ''Forget about boat people - there are more people coming through the turnstiles at Kingsford-Smith Airport who are then working illegally.''

The CFMEU has recently recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars from construction companies on Sydney sites. It recovered $129,600 for 95 Chinese workers not paid for six weeks at a Lane Cove site. It recouped a further $100,000 from a Rhodes job under the same subcontractor.

Other amounts recovered include $41,153 for nine Chinese gyprock plasterers, $56,613 for 20 Serbian gyprockers and $102,055 for 17 Irish backpackers.

CFMEU state organiser, Mark Cunningham, said he knew of several cases of Sudanese being paid as low as $10 an hour. ''There seems to be large increases of Chinese, Korean and Sudanese being abused.''

In January the union reclaimed $33,000 for seven Chinese workers from Jin Cheng Pty Ltd. The company said most of its workers stayed for only ''two or three weeks'' and their visas were not checked.

Last year six illegal Malaysian tilers were arrested at a Bovis Lend Lease apartment site in Pyrmont. Three were using other people's induction cards and were on tourist visas.

Construction is the second-highest employer of illegal workers. The Department of Immigration said in 2009-10 it conducted 3752 ''compliance field activities'' relating to illegal workers.

''Compliance officers continue to take strong action against foreign nationals working illegally,'' a spokeswoman said.

A report commissioned by the government said there were about 100,000 illegal workers in Australia.

Ken Phillips, the executive director of Independent Contractors Australia, said: ''I talk to officers [doing raids] and they tell me that it's like squeezing a balloon. You catch one and you know there are 100 out there you haven't caught.''