Australian Workers' Union: Shearing Contractors Assoc email proves Ag Visa a threat to regional jobs, especially women's
A recent email from an employer group obtained by the Australian Workers' Union confirms the union's fears that the Federal Government's new Ag Visa scheme will flood regional Australia with poorly paid foreign workers at the expense of local jobs, especially among young women.
Dan Walton, AWU National Secretary, says the email is proof that the Shearing Contractors Association of Australia, in cahoots with the National Farmers Federation, is basically saying: "Let's get in on the chance for cheap labour."
The Ag Visa scheme, hastily announced in the wake of the new Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement signed at the G7, targets vulnerable workers from South East Asia.
In the email to its members, the Shearing Contractors Association of Australia (SCAA) says it envisages members "accessing some of the 700 'Non-skilled' workers from an ASEAN country (most likely Indonesia but that is to be confirmed) who will arrive over summer".
"The workers will be paid Shed Hand Award wages (not the higher rates)," it says. "This is not the only opportunity to engage overseas workers, just the first opportunity. Once the system is established, it's likely you can engage the workers directly and therefore at a lower cost."
Mr Walton says that what the AWU has feared – that the Ag Visa will simply be used as a way for unscrupulous employers to cut wages and conditions – is now happening.
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