Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received correspondence signed by the national secretaries of eight trade unions: Paul Bastian from the AMWU, Michael O'Connor from the CFMEU, Michele O'Neil from the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia, Allen Hicks from the ETU, Tony Sheldon from the Transport Workers' Union, Scott McDine from the Australian Workers' Union, Paddy Crumlin from the MUA and Tim Kennedy from the National Union of Workers.

This is a joint letter of five pages. It expresses concern about the China free trade agreement provisions regarding what are called investment facilitation arrangements. These arrangements give Chinese investment projects of over $150 million the opportunity to access Chinese workers under a temporary working visa program with specially negotiated terms and conditions.

The terms of these agreements are open to negotiation between the Chinese representatives of project proponents and the Australian government. They offer an even looser set of conditions than the already excessively loose conditions attached to the granting of 457 visas. These negotiations will determine how many visas can be granted under an arrangement, as well as the occupations and skill levels that can be filled with such workers; whether there should be any requirement for labour market testing for the granting of visas; the temporary skilled migration income threshold that will apply; English language proficiency requirements, if any; and qualifications and experience requirements, if any.

Unless radically modified, this provision will lead to projects that involve entire imported workforces made up of temporary-visa holders, effectively locking out Australian workers, regardless of skills, qualifications, ability, availability and other relevant factors; workforces that are paid sub-living wages and as a result are effectively bonded, temporary immigrant working poor; workforces that do not speak English and cannot effectively represent their interests with respect to workplace safety, employment conditions and other issues; and imported workers working in positions that are not characterised by domestic skills shortages. These unions say that the China agreement, as it stands, creates the certainty that sooner or later Australia will see the importation of entire foreign workforces, to be exploited at will. Not only will immigrant workers be exploited, but Australian workers will be locked out of work in their own country because a foreign worker can be exploited in ways that they cannot be.

The agreement removes the ability of the Australian government to implement labour market testing for Chinese workers entering through the regular 457 scheme. This measure is irrevocable and means that we are giving up this right forever—a recipe for rising unemployment, falling living standards and greater inequality.