Migrant workers could fill labour shortages in low paid jobs

Industry experts are calling for uneducated foreigners to be brought into Australia to fill low paid positions that are unwanted by unemployed Australians.

Currently under 457 visa laws, foreign workers must meet set English levels and can only be employed in skilled jobs earning more than $49,300.

Industry players want a new tourism labour agreement where visa restrictions are dropped so that migrants can be brought over to tend bars, drive tour buses, wait tables and staff casinos. If the visa laws were relaxed by the Government, tourism groups say that low paid migrant workers could plug job gaps in tourist hotspots like Melbourne.

Submissions suggest that wages could be paid at market or award rates which are as low as $33,800 per year, the yearly salary a waiter currently earns.

The perceived labour shortages in the tourism and hospitality industries could be a result of Australians rejecting the low pay and long hours of jobs on offer.

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The high level of English proficiency required to work in Australia is claimed to be unnecessary for a number of workers in the restaurant and catering businesses who don’t speak directly with the public.

As is to be expected, union body’s have rejected the proposals claiming that “employers will undoubtedly argue that they can’t find Australians to do these jobs.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) argues that only highly skilled foreign workers should be allowed into Australia to protect Australian jobs and overseas workers from exploitation.

Tell us what you think? Should low paid foreign workers be brought into Australia to fill gaps in Australia’s tourism industry?