Source: CFMEU C & G News
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said today that new figures provide more evidence the Abbott government is not serious about protecting Australian jobs.
Immigration Department figures show that at 31 December 2013, the total number of 457 visa holders in Australia was 178,980[1], an increase of 11,960 or 7.6 per cent more than the numbers at end-December 2012.
The 457 figures were released the same day as the ANZ Job vacancies survey, showing a continuing decline in job vacancies Australia-wide in January 2014, after a 10 per cent decline over 2013 as a whole.
“The number of 457 visa holders in Australia should not be increasing, it should be falling,” CFMEU National Assistant Secretary Dave Noonan said today.
“The Australian job market is in a desperate state, especially for young people, and the Abbott government’s temporary visa policies are making it much worse for them.
“As well as refusing assistance to the car industry and SPC, the Government itself is predicting that unemployment will rise to 6.25 per cent. That means it will be even tougher for young people looking for apprenticeships and their first full-time job.”
“But incredibly the Abbott government allows the vast majority of employers to get 457 visas for foreign nationals, without even having to advertise the jobs for Australian workers let alone prove that none were available.
“And in the few cases where employers do have to ‘search’ for Australian workers before 457 visa workers are approved, employers can easily avoid their legal responsibility to employ Australians first – because the government has given employers so many loopholes.”
Other figures released today show that the number of young foreign nationals aged 18-30 in Australia on Working Holiday Visas (WHVs) has also continued to soar. At 31 December 2013, there were 178,980 WHV holders in Australia – up 16,500 on end-December 2012, or a 10 per cent increase.
“The WHV program currently has no caps on numbers of visas granted and is poorly regulated in the workplace, disadvantaging young Australian job seekers. Among other things, employers currently transfer over 10,000 WHV holders per year straight on to 457 visas, bypassing young Australians.
“The WHV program must be brought under much more control, with numbers capped to start with.”
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