The Abbott government has new plans to ease elements which they have described to be ”unnecessarily restrictive” for the skilled foreign worker visa scheme. This includes strict English language proficiency rules which have been the cause of a number of applicants’ failure to be granted a visa in the first place.
It is in the opinion of the Greens, Labor, and the unions that what the Abbott government is actually doing is making life much harder for Australian job seekers, especially when it shows the country’s unemployment rates have risen. However, the plan was welcomed by major business groups, saying that the proposal was ”balanced.”
Mr. Scott Morrison, the minister for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, has shown his support for some of the outlined recommendations enumerated in a 457 visa program report commissioned by the government.
The minister played down the likelihood of moving quickly to get rid of the labour market testing, and that he suggested there are other, far less controversial suggestions which were going to get the support of the Senate.
Labour market testing was legislated by the former government of then Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and it requires the potential employers of individuals under the 457 visa program to show that they tried looking for a candidate from the local labour market to make sure that Australians had the opportunity first and foremost to get the job, before it is made available to foreign workers.
There was a report published on Wednesday that said the labour market testing which was conducted by employers should be abolished as it did not guarantee reliability and had actually been proven ineffective a number of times in the Australian context.
Mr. Morrison said that the labour market testing regime that was started by the former Gillard government was laborious and was one of the reasons why the program was suffocating with regulation at the unions’ urging. He continued on by saying that he sees himself as a ”realist” and that there were a lot of other recommendations which he could undertake in a far less controversial manner.
The review had twenty two recommendations all in all, and it also included there be changes done to the English language requirements for the applicants of the 457 visa program.
It was suggested in the report that the requirement be shifted to an average of at least 5, instead of necessitating visa applicants to get a score of 5 in all of the four tests which comprise of the following: Listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
The report was also calling for greater flexibility to the businesses or industries that are asking for concessions to the English language requirement on a case to case basis. The Immigration minister is all for changes to be made in this area.”The English language requirements are unnecessarily restrictive, serving more as an industrial lock-out rather than an honest attempt to ensure appropriate language skills which the government does believe is important,” said Mr. Morrison on a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra. ”There are more practical ways to achieve what is needed here and moving to an averaging system would remove much unnecessary cost and complexity.”
He was also in support of a recommendation to make adjustments on salary rate rules in the market.
These rules will be placed to make sure 457 visa holders receive the same pay and the same conditions of employment as Australians who are doing the same kind of work. However, employers are exempted from showing market rates for job positions that have a salary of two hundred fifty thousand dollars per year.
In the report, it said that the market rate should still be one of the core components of the 457 visa program however, the threshold of earnings for the exemption needs to be reduced to the same level that was applied prior to the year 2013.
”I support the continuation of the market rate framework, but will, in line with the recommendations of the review, look favourably on introducing a deregulation measure that brings the income bar for exemption from market rate assessment in line with the top marginal tax rate of one hundred eighty thousand dollars,” Mr. Morrison said. ”I am also attracted to the proposals that support trusted legitimate sponsors & help them manage their compliance & reporting obligations more effectively, whilst making it more difficult for those with dishonest intent to make fraudulent application.”
The minister also went on to say that he agrees with the fact that the process of sponsorship renewal needs to be made more simple. He also thinks that reporting time frames need to be extended, and the legislation be brought forward to make it illegal for visa applicants to pay sponsors for a migration outcome. He believes that it needs to be reinforced by a heavy penalty and a framework of conviction.
According Mr. Bill Shorten, the leader of Opposition, unemployment is now at a twelve-year high in the country, which is similar to the unemployment rate in the United States.
”I think the government needs to carefully consider whether or not it wants to make it easier to bring in 457 visa holders at a time when Australians can’t find jobs,” stated Mr. Shorten.
According to Mr. Marles, the Immigration spokesman to Labor, the plans to lower down the English language requirements is ”extremely alarming” and could potentially harm safety in the workplace as overseas workers will be left ”at risk of being exploited by dodgy employers.”
Mr. Adam Bandt, the deputy leader of the Greens, stated that his party is going to ”strongly fight any move to remove the need to advertise locally.”
”If employers do not even have to look for workers locally first, the 457 visa program will turn back into a pool of cheap labour from overseas,” Mr. Bandt said. ”Benefitting some employers at the expense of workers and the long-term skills base of the country.”
Ms. Ged Kearney, the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said it would be completely ”ludicrous” if the labour market testing was abolished.
”Unemployment is at a twelve-year high,” she said. ”Yet, instead of creating a plan for jobs & investing in skills & training, the answer from the government & big businesses is to make it easier for employers to bring in foreign workers.”
Australian Mines and Metal Association (or AMMA), a resource industry employer group, has expressed their support in ”more practical & effective” standards when it comes to English language testing and lowering the comparison in the market salary rate.
”Clearly employers should not be burdened with onerous salary comparison requirements for high-income earners being paid more than one hundred eighty thousand dollars per year,” said Mr. Steve Knott, the chief executive of AMMA.
However, it is being argued by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry that the labour market testing was ”red tape” as there were a lot of employers who are already aware of their local labour market’s strengths and weaknesses even before all of these issues have been thrown into the spotlight.
The report was conducted by a panel of 4 members, and was also led by Mr. John Azarias, a former public servant.
The review was commissioned by Sen. Michaelia Cash, the assistant minister of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). She said that the panel led by Mr. Azarias had consulted with one hundred fifty organisations from different stakeholder groups that comprised of unions, employers, and individuals concerned.
“Notably the independent panel found no evidence to back the claims made by the previous Labor government of widespread rorting of the program,” Senator Cash stated when asked about the issue on Wednesday. “The government will announce a detailed response to the report shortly.”
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