Jobs & Money Detail
Temp workers flock to Oz
Foreign temporary skilled workers are becoming an ever more common sight in Australia as the country continues to battle against severe skilled worker shortages, writes David Fuller
According to recent immigration department figures 148,628 temporary workers arrived in the country on a Temporary Business (Long Stay) 457 visa between July 2003 and April 2006 – including 58,000 in the 12 months to April. During this period the figures show that more than 23,000 temporary workers went to New South Wales, while 11,976 headed to Victoria, 8,139 to Queensland and 7,732 to Western Australia.
The 457 visa is the most commonly used programme for employers who want to sponsor overseas workers to work in Australia on a temporary basis. The position being advertised by the employer must be deemed 'appropriate' by the immigration department before it can be offered to an overseas worker, while the applicant themself must have the skills, qualifications, experience and an employment background which match those required for the position. The visa allows the holder to work in Australia for a set period of between three months to four years, and can allow someone who has designs on one day making a permanent move to Oz but can't quite qualify under the current system the chance to gain the extra points or permanent employer nomination that will enable them to emigrate Down Under for good.
However, while the recent Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affair's statistics seem to point to the fact that the 457 visa is doing its job in attracting much needed skilled workers into the country, critics, including industry unions and the opposition Labour Party, say that too many employers are taking advantage of the system by using the visa as an excuse to pay substandard wages to overseas workers instead of 'proper' wages to Australians.
They argue that because there is a chance workers can gain permanent residency through a 457 visa many choose to keep quiet about the 'low' wages and 'poor' working conditions they have to endure. During a parliamentary debate in June Rodney Sawford, the labour MP for Port Adelaide, said that 30 per cent of skilled workers who had arrived on 457 visas approved in the past year were working for an amount below the minimum salary level. However, this accusation was denied by immigration minister Senator Amanda Vanstone, who said the actual percentage of workers on a salary less than that of the minimum level was just 9 per cent, and that this was something the government was looking to rectify so that in the future no 457 visa holders would earn less than the minimum salary level.
For the 2006–07 migration year the minimum salary level for Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa holders has been set at AUS$41,850 (approximately £17,533) a year, while those who work in the information technology sector can expect to earn a minimum of AUS$57,300 (approximately £23,675) per annum.
However, Vanstone believes that most holders of 457 visas shouldn't be too worried about merely earning the minimum salary level. She says that the average wage for such temporary workers is well in excess of this – around AUS$65,000 (approximately £26,960). The immigration minister has also recently dismissed further claims made by the opposition who say that the number of lesser-skilled workers being granted 457 visas had doubled in the past year. The reality is that the increase in the lesser skilled jobs is from 2 per cent to 3 per cent, according to Vanstone. "The truth is that they [temporary workers] remain a very minor part of skilled temporary entry, which provides doctors, nurses and a wide range of top professionals vital to the Australian economy."
In addition to Temporary Business (Long Stay) visas, Australia also receives temporary workers through the Working Holiday Maker scheme, while the Trade Skills Training (TST) visa was introduced last year to further help reduce skills shortages in regional areas of Australia. This visa gives Australian employers in need of apprentices the chance to offer the position to someone from overseas providing they can prove to the immigration department that they have been unable to find an Australian to fill the position.
An apprentice can live and work in regional Australia for up to five years, or shorter periods, depending on the time it takes them to complete their apprenticeship. In order to be eligible for this route the potential apprentice would need to be aged between 18 and 35, have an appropriate education level for the position, and be good English speakers. Like the 457 visa, the TST visa has also come in for some criticism from certain Australian organisations, which argue that it takes potential training opportunities away from young Australian workers.
For further information:
Temporary Business (Long Stay) 457 visa
Trade Skills Training visa (sub class 471)
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