Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to raise a very disturbing incident that has taken place in the last couple of days. We all heard in the parliament about the issue of the 40 Filipino workers working for Dartbridge Engineering in my electorate. This is not a case of exploitation of the 457 visa system; this is a case of exploitation of workers. This is what has been happening. Yesterday’s revelation was that these workers were being abused by Dartbridge Engineering at Carole Park. As I said, it is not an abuse of the system, because it is exactly what the government intended the system to be used for. The government have changed the system. They have changed the industrial relations legislation to allow for lower wages, a dumbing down of skills and a lowering of conditions. It is being used, in concert with the changes to the 457 skilled visa program—which can in itself be a good program if it is used for the right reasons: for skills shortages, which would be fine—to exploit workers from overseas. Even worse, it is being used to exploit Australian workers.

The reality is that we have people looking for work, people who want to work, and they are being replaced by cheaper labour. It is not the fault of the Filipino workers. That is not the problem. They are good, decent people trying to earn a living and they are being conned into coming to this country by labour hire companies that charge them exorbitant fees. They make eight men pay $175 each in rent, to live in one house, and for transport. They work them long hours a day without penalty rates, without overtime, without shift allowances and without any rights. They force them to sign contracts in the Philippines, where the only part of the contract—these so-called AWAs—that they see is the signature page. They have no real comprehension of what they are being led to. They are just given a promise that they will be treated fairly in the sense that they will be paid the market rate—the minimum allowed under Australian law—of about $42,000 a year.

In reality, these people are being paid around $27,000 a year, when the going market rate in my area is around $50,000 to $60,000, even $70,000, for someone with similar skills. This is putting huge pressure on welders in my area. I warn welders in my electorate—and right across the country—‘Be very afraid of this government, because this government is replacing you with cheap welders from all around the world.’

Government Member:

Government member interjecting—

Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You cannot get welders, but you can get them for a lot less if you get them from overseas. That is not replacing a skills shortage; that is driving down wages. I am going to be asking the welders of my electorate and the Liberal electorate of Blair to come forward and tell me their stories and tell me whether they are looking for work. This is not the only company doing this. The people who are being replaced by these workers are finding that they cannot compete on wages and they never will. (Time expired)