
Issue No 89		23 March 2001

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Legal

Washing Their Hands

Mark Morey outlines how Liberal neglect of the working visa system has led to exploitation of guest workers.


	Mark Morey

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Labor Council is concerned that the current Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) assessment of potential employers for Business (Short Stay) (456) visa and Business (Long Stay) (457) visa and the monitoring of the employment conditions under which these visa holders are working are not adequately addressed by the DIMA. Labor Council does not accept that the monitoring of the conditions under which these people, such as the stonemasons worked and lived were the responsibility of State authorities.

Workers who enter Australia are granted access because the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs assessed that their sponsors were prepared to accept the obligations and responsibilities for these workers. It is the Australian Federal Government who grants their work visas and thus is guaranteeing that their assessment of the potential employers of such people are willing and able to meet their obligations. It is the role of the Federal Government and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to monitor and review these employers and in doing so should make available to trade unions the locations of all such workers. There also needs to be a stronger test for employers than is currently being undertaken by DIMA.

A range of cases being dealt with by affiliated unions - Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (Construction and General Division), Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (NSW Branch), Transport Workers Union of Australia (New South Wales Branch) - indicates that the current process is not ensuring workers brought to Australia on Business visas are being adequately protected from exploitation.

Business (Long Stay) (457) visas are for long-term temporary business and skilled entry (for up to four years) to work in Australian companies or to set up a new business or branch of an overseas company; and Business (Short Stay) (456) visas are for genuine business visitors seeking a short-term entry to Australia for business purposes (up to three months at a time).

Over the past couple of months Labor Council has received a number of complaints from affiliates in relation to employers exploiting workers brought to Australia on Business Visas. The latest case involves eight stonemasons brought to Australia to work on a Hindu Temple at Helensburg. The workers held Business (Long Stay) (457) visas and were only receiving $45 pay a week, plus $100 was being sent home to their families. They were also living in temporary illegal accommodation on the site. These work practices had been in existence for over three years with no apparent monitoring by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) in relation to the work and industrial conditions under which these people lived and worked.

Before an employer is approved as a sponsor they must be able to demonstrate that the business:

1. is a lawfully and actively operating business

2. is the direct employer of the temporary business entrant

3. is able to meet sponsorship undertakings

4. will benefit Australia through the employment of a temporary resident

5. will advance skills through technology training

6. agrees to abide by the sponsorship undertakings"

The Labor Council of NSW is particularly concerned with points 1,3 and 6.

Lawfully And Actively Operating Business

There is a need for greater emphasis on assessing whether the principles of a business wishing to sponsor overseas workers have ever been involved in conduct where they have failed to provide workers with their legal entitlements or have breached any relevant State or Federal industrial responsibilities.

It is essential that DIMA is able to ensure that no employer or director of any company intending to sponsor workers has participated in exploiting local or overseas workers. Many of the overseas workers are vulnerable as they are without social or professional networks that would enable them to seek assistance or representation should they stop receiving their entitlements or in more serious cases, face intimidation by their sponsor.

Ability To Meet Sponsorship Undertakings

Labour Council does not believe that DIMA is in a position to effectively undertake the monitoring of businesses and their ability to meet sponsorship undertakings for Business visa holders. There is a need for sponsors to provide a bond of entitlements for each worker they sponsor to work in Australia. This will ensure that there is a serious commitment from businesses to the need for skilled labour from overseas and secondly, will provide a safety net for workers who may be exploited.

Under Temporary Business Entry, employers agree to meet a number of sponsorship obligations including:

� meet financial obligations to the Commonwealth;

� comply with Australian industrial relations laws and levels of remuneration and conditions of employment;

� accept financial responsibility for all medical and hospital costs

� be responsible for repatriation costs for sponsored persons and their dependants

� co-operate fully in any change in circumstances that may affect the capacity of the business to honour its sponsorship obligations

As part of the monitoring process, sponsors could forward wage and superannuation receipts to the Tax Office. The Tax Office could then notify DIMA of any discrepancies in sponsor payments. Such discrepancies could then be investigated by DIMA. Without such safe guards such visa holders are far more susceptible to exploitation especially if they are employed in industries where their ability to advocate is severely reduced.

Labor Council is concerned about the level of power individual sponsors have to revoke worker's visas. Such power places workers in very tenuous position should they wish to complain about the treatment they are receiving from their sponsor or sponsoring organisation.

In order to address the limited amount of information workers entering Australia under Business visas receive in relation to their employment rights, such visa holders should receive a "Working In Australia" information package translated into their own language.

The information package should contain, at a minimum, the following information:

� a copy of the industrial Award under which they will be employed;

� information on superannuation and how it operates in Australia; and

� contact numbers for appropriate advocacy and service bodies including:

� contact details of the local Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Office [including a contact name or appropriate section]

� contact details for the relevant union covering their area of work; and

� contact details of an appropriate peak NESB organisation or appropriate community association.

Labour Agreements

Currently Labour Agreements are formal arrangements negotiated between the Commonwealth Government (represented by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business), employers (eg industries, employer organisations and specific employers) with unions being included as "optionally other interested parties".

Labor Council believes it is important for unions to be involved in the formulation of Labour Agreements to ensure that overseas recruitment is not contrary to the improvement of employment and training opportunities for Australians. Unions are ideally placed to support and assist in the development of appropriate employment, education, training and career path progression of Australian workers prior to entering into an agreement.

In addition, unions are ideally placed to identify existing and emerging workplace vacancies and skill shortages. The involvement of unions would significantly increase the ability of Labour Agreements to more effectively identify skill shortages, which in turn will benefit apprentices, trainees and workers, individual businesses and the Australian economy. A commitment to the development of formal training targeting skills shortages will increase the diversity of the skills base within Australia while developing additional career paths.

Mark Morey is the Labor Council's Productive Diversity. This is an edited version of the Labor Council's submission to Department of Immigration's Review of Residents Visas

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Issue 89 contents

Interview: Paddy Takes the Helm
Irish, internationalist, republican, socialist & seafarer - Paddy Crumlin intends taking the old traditions of the labour left into the 21st century, the community and cyberspace.

Unions: Breaking the Mould
Mark Hearn looks at how women union delegates are helping to change the culture in the traditionally male bastion of glassworking.

Legal: Washing Their Hands
Mark Morey outlines how Liberal neglect of the working visa system has led to exploitation of guest workers.

International: Violence Betrays Shangri-La
Shangri-La hotel union members carrying a coffin marked Robert Kuok have been assaulted and beaten by police in Jakarta.

Economics: Corporations: Different Than You and Me
Corporations are fundamentally different than you and me. That's a simple truth that Big Business leaders desperately hope the public will not perceive.

History: The Steel Octopus
Be prepared for a flood of Nostalgia from the media about the �Big Australian�, as it prepares to flee our shores and finally internationalise its digging operations. Workers won�t forget BHP�s less than worker friendly past and present (and no doubt it�s future).

Review: Mean Nation
John Allen charts the fall and fall of philanthropy in Australian society.

Satire: Ryan 'A Big Wake-Up Call For Me': Beazley
The narrow victory to Labor in the Ryan by-election has delivered a big slap in the face to Leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley.

» Abbott and �Drinking Buddy� Under Microscope

» Working Visas: Ruddock Sells Dump to Abbott

» Tourist Guides Bussed In

» Fair Wear Holds Breath as Carr Celebrates

» Labor to Restore Public Sector�s Dignity

» Its Time for Carr to Act on Safey on Building Sites

» Bread Maker Slices Workforce

» Workers Show Grace Under Pressure

» Engineers Win BHP Redundancy Case

» Transport Drug Pushers Not Charged

» Training Body Needs $150 Million to Cope with Growth

» HIH Urged To Safeguard Employee Entitlements

» Carr Proposal For Public Schools Flawed

» Human Smirk Returns to Spiritual Home

» McGauchie Appointment Draws MUA Fire

» Bove Loses McDonald's Raid Appeal

» James Hardie Called to Account

» Australasian Union Organising Conference

» Activist Notebook