Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The incorporated speech read as follows—

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important piece of legislation.

In my first speech, I wished the Leader of the Senate and Immigration Minister well as he attempted to untangle the mess that the previous government made of our immigration system.

In particular, I highlighted that the exploitation of workers under 457 visas still needed to be resolved.

I pointed out that, unless all workers in Australia enjoyed the same rights and entitlements, even those whose licence to stay here is only temporary, our immigration system would be undermined

The Australian public, and Australian workers in particular, need to be assured that the immigration system is not being used as a backdoor way to undermine Australian working conditions

I am pleased the work needed to restore faith in our immigration system is now underway through this bill and other work forthcoming.

This bill is a positive reform that will help put a stop to unscrupulous behaviour.

It will help put an end to the exploitation of workers, who arrive in Australia with skills that assist our economy to grow, but who experience abuse and mistreatment.

It will put an end to the unplanned and unregulated explosion of the Subclass 457 visa program.

It will help ensure that Australian workers wages and conditions are not undermined.

This is particularly important in these times of economic uncertainty

457 visas are, in and of themselves, not the villain in this picture.

457s were originally brought about to address the widespread skills shortages.

My home state of Western Australia has particularly benefited from the skills that temporary workers have brought to our state and our economy.

The resources boom has provided employment for many, particularly in WA.

And still more skilled workers were needed.

But as we know, this was partly because the previous government had failed to invest in skills development, in long term education and training.

Addressing the skills shortage is a priority for the Rudd Labor Government

We are addressing the skills shortage - not only by fixing up the 457 visa program - but also through the provision of $19.3 billion in education and training opportunities in the 2008-09 budget.

The Government has committed an investment of $1.9 billion over five years for up to 630,000 new training places.

We’re building the skills and knowledge for the jobs of the future.

The subclass 457 visa program has benefited employers by providing access to migrants with ready skills that have helped businesses to grow.

It has also given some temporary migrants the opportunity to work in Australia:

• to use and develop their skills;
• to earn good wages; and
• to enjoy good working conditions.

But that hasn’t been not the case for all temporary migrant workers.

Increasing demand for skilled workers, particularly over the last five years, has put pressure on the 457 visa program.

The scheme has grown rapidly.

It has expanded to include lower-skilled occupations

And this expansion has brought with it many temporary workers with lower levels of English language skills.

This context has led to increased exploitation and abuse of workers under the scheme.

Workers have been exploited in a number of ways - including being underpaid and not paid at the correct salary level and even not being paid at all.

The AMWU has brought to my attention many examples of the ways in which workers are being exploited under the scheme.

Cases like that of the company Aprint.

In September last year, this company withheld $93,000 in wages from four Chinese 457 visa workers.

The workers were made to work more than 60 hours a week.

More than ten thousand dollars was taken from their wages for lawyers and travel fees.

The company was fined $9,240 for breaching the Workplace Relations Act.

But amazingly, the company was not subject to any penalty in relation to breaches of their obligations under the 457 visa scheme.

Recently, I met with a group of Filipino workers who are currently in Australia on 457 visas.

I heard their stories of exploitation.

One group of workers told me they were required by their employer to live in one house.

Rent was deducted from their wages for the privilege of living in this house.

They were not free to move to other, more suitable or cheaper accommodation.

Two of the workers wanted to move out.

They wanted to live in different accommodation.

They wanted choice over this critical aspect of their living conditions

But after repeatedly requesting that the company stop deducting rent from their wages, they were told that the house they were living in was owned by the company, and therefore, that rent deductions would not be stopped.

This is not an isolated case, there are many others just like it

The union advocated on behalf of these workers, and finally, they were paid back the amount of rent that was deducted from their wages.

Before this union advocacy, they had no choice, no options and no say.

This kind of exploitation has led workers, their unions and many employers to raise serious concerns about the integrity of the program.

What such examples of exploitation make clear - is the need for penalties to be applied to unscrupulous employers.

And this legislation does just this.

Labor is committed to ensuring that employers know their rights and responsibilities under the scheme and act accordingly

The government is also committed to making sure that local workers do not lose job opportunities to workers on 457 visas.

Employers must abide by conditions that make sure that we keep providing employment and training opportunities for Australian workers.

$19.6 million has been allocated in the 2008-2009 budget by the Rudd government to improve the processing and compliance aspects of the 457 visa program.

The bill will expand powers to monitor and investigate non-compliance by sponsors of workers

This is of critical importance because it will allow for more trained officers who will be able to conduct site visits to make sure sponsors are complying with their obligations.

These inspectors will be able to

• Inspect the premises;
• Interview people
• Require that sponsors produce particular documents, and
• Copy documents

Sponsors who do not cooperate with a written request to produce a document may face up to 6 months imprisonment.

The exploitation of workers through not paying wages or paying incorrect wages will be dealt with by penalties such as fines of up to $33,000 for companies that breach their obligations.

The bill will also improve information sharing across government to make sure that the correct salary is being paid to workers.

Again, this will help put a stop to the exploitation of workers.

It will also provide clarity in relation to the obligations of employers and other sponsors.

This includes providing clarity on the time period within which a sponsor must meet their obligations and the way in which the obligations are to be satisfied.

And these obligations will be, for the first time, enforceable by law.

Sponsors who have already been approved may not need to go through the whole process of seeking sponsorship approval when they want to vary their sponsorship.

This will make the whole sponsorship approval process much more efficient.

So this legislation will be good for employers and it will be good for workers.

It is the first step in the process of rectifying a system that contributed to the exploitation of workers under the previous government.

But there is more to be done.

I was pleased to meet with workers on 457 visas recently here in parliament and with delegates from the AMWU, the ANF and the CFMEU about this issue.

Through this delegation and through individual meetings with visa holders I have heard that there is a real need to improve access to health and community services for workers and their families.

Employers should not be able to direct workers as to whether seek medical attention.

As the AMWU points out – imagine a situation where a worker is sick and needs medical treatment but pressure is put on them not to attend health services by the employer because of the cost.

That is not an acceptable situation for any worker.

Many of these workers, and the families that sometimes accompany them, live in isolation.

For some, their world is limited to the workplace –

Even their accommodation is dictated by their employer

But more than that, workers are even isolated in the workplace, isolated from fellow workers who are Australian residents

457 visa holders should have the right to collectively bargain their wages and conditions alongside their work colleagues who are Australian residents.

They should not, as some do now, experience fear and intimidation when trying to find out what their rights are.

They should not, as some do now, experience fear and intimidation when they want to talk to other workers about their pay and conditions.

They should be in a position, as all Australian workers should be, to feel confident that contacting their union will not bring with it retribution of some kind.

This workplace isolation is compounded by the isolation that families of 457 workers experience.

Those that are fortunate enough to have their families with them sometimes feel cut off from their communities and from services they should be able to access.

I note there are some very successful programs operating in my home state of WA to break down the isolation experienced by temporary migrant workers and their families.

The AMWU has been successful in working with community organizations and particular groups of workers to develop social networks, so that this isolation can be broken down and workers can get to know their rights.

The government knows there is more work to be done.

That’s why earlier this year the Minister for Immigration appointed Barbara Deegan to conduct a broad review of the integrity of the 457 visa program.

Ms Deegan’s report clearly states the complexity that 457 visa holders and their sponsors face.

The report details the ways in which 457 visa holders are exploited and the way in which the system, through rapid growth and long term neglect has perpetuated this.

The report paints a way forward including replacing Minimum Salary Levels which visa holders are currently paid under with a fairer market rate system for all workers earning under $100, 000 per annum.

Lack of information about rights and obligations by 457 visa holders is a common theme through the report.

Giving information to workers about their rights can lead to ending exploitation.

Recommendations such as giving information to new applicants regarding realistic pathways to permanent residency such as skill and English language requirements.

And providing clarity around the right to end their employment and seek work with another employer.

This is to stop insidious situations in which workers feel they cannot speak up about poor and unsafe work practices in case it jeopardizes their application for permanent residency.

The report also recommends that employers be barred from taking money from workers as a result of the worker gaining employment with them and from deducting wages for the payment of any agent.

The report made an important recommendation on the issue of fair pay. Arguing that 457 visa holders should be paid the same as the Australian workers they work alongside.

This is in the best interests of these workers, equal pay for the same work. Such provisions will also help ensure that employers don’t seek to bring in 457 workers just because it is cheaper, but will only do so when there is a legitimate shortage of appropriate labour. In the current economic climate in an uncertain labour market this is vitally important.

Stopping the exploitation of workers, making sure they have access to information about their rights and making the system run more smoothly and efficiently is the first priority.

And for that reason I commend this bill to the Senate.