Aussie union calls for reduction of temporary foreign workers number

CANBERRA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Australia's peak union body has called on the government to reduce employer's access to foreign workers.

In a five-point plan released on Thursday, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary Sally McManus called for the number of "vulnerable" temporary visa workers to be reduced.

According to the Department of Home Affairs, there were 1.88 million people in Australia holding temporary visas in March 2015, of which 1.4 million had the right to work.

The ACTU document claims that an unemployment crisis in many regions has been caused by an over-reliance on temporary visa workers.

"Now, one in 10 workers in Australia is on a temporary visa. Whether they are farms, construction sites, meat processing factories or in hospitality, temporary visa workers are being exploited. This has to end," McManus said in a media release on Thursday.

"Local workers deserve the opportunity to gain secure employment. Jobs must be properly advertised locally, and people must be able to get the training they need to pursue these opportunities."

"We need to change the rules so employers are forced to advertise locally, and is only able to import workers for genuine skills shortages."

"Australia's migration program must, as it did previously, favor permanent migration, so people can come to Australia, with their family, and build a life for themselves -- with the same rights that we all deserve," McManus said.

The ACTU is the largest body representing workers in Australia. It is affiliated with 46 unions representing more than 2 million workers.

The plan also called for the end of exploitation of temporary visa workers by ensuring that those workers are paid market rates and for a rebuild of the technical and further education (TAFE) system "so people can get the skills they need."

"Temporary visa workers in Australia must be given basic rights, such as access to a union and being paid properly," McManus said.

"All workers, no matter where they are from, should have the right to be paid properly, have basic job security and to be safe at work."

The government introduced laws to protect vulnerable workers in September 2017 after revelations of exploitation in a number of industries. Enditem