An obscure visa loophole has been identified by the Australian Coordinator of the International Transport Workers Federation Inspectorate as the method by which luxury expedition cruise operators are replacing Australian seafarers with vulnerable, foreign workers on the Australian coast.
During the ITF Inspectorate's Week of Action, ship inspectors have identified rampant wage theft and mistreatment of visa workers aboard ships operating in the Australian coastal trade. The ships involved include offshore oil and gas ships in the North West of WA and luxury cruise ships catering to tourists visiting Australia's tropical waters.
The Maritime Crew Visa, which is designed to facilitate genuine international trade, is being rorted by the expedition and luxury cruises sector to employ foreign seafarers for between 6 and 9 months at a time on multiple voyages that all begin and end in Australia and remain wholly within Australian waters.
Meanwhile, offshore oil and gas companies have been found ripping off foreign workers by refusing to acknowledge their entitlement to payment rates negotiated for by Australian unions, telling migrant workers they are only entitled to the base wage in the Award safety net.
"The ITF Australian Inspectorate identified an estimated $18 Million USD in underpayments associated with visa rorts in the expedition cruise ship and Offshore Oil & Gas Industries which represents roughly one third of the estimated total of $60 Million USD that was identified through the Week of Action," said Paddy Crumlin, the MUA National Secretary and ITF President.
The ITF is calling for urgent federal government intervention to stamp out the abuse of these vulnerable workers and restore Australian seafarers to domestic shipping and tourism voyages.
"This type of corruption and manipulation of our employment and industrial laws to exploit vulnerable migrant workers is unconscionable, and those caught doing it must be pursued in the courts," said Mr Crumlin. "The Fair Work Ombudsman must investigate and prosecute these systemic abuses and manipulations of Australia's workplace and immigration laws by major multinationals," he added.
As well as by rorting visa loopholes, ship owners have been shirking their responsibilities to pay seafarers properly by manipulating the temporary vessel licence scheme and refusing to pay rates of pay consistent with Australian industry benchmarks.
"We are seeing wild fluctuations in rates of pay from seafarer to seafarer, depending on what the ship owner or the tour operator thinks they can get away with. By allowing shipowners to rort the visa system, Australian seafarers are being undercut by as much as 50%," said Ian Bray, the coordinator of the Australian Inspectorate.
"Australian seafarers are being penalised for having strong unions and their jobs are being offshored by stealth, using a loophole in the maritime workforce visa system that is intended to allow foreign seafarers to briefly transit in and out of Australia to join or depart a bona fide international ship voyage," Mr Bray said.
"This was never the intention of the Maritime Crew Visa and its use this way is an absolute scam that workplace regulators and the Home Affairs Department must stamp out," Paddy Crumlin said.
Offshore oil and gas companies are gaming the IR system and the maritime skills shortage to deny vulnerable foreign seafarers the rates of pay and conditions of employment which Australian unions have locked in over decades of negotiation. Through sheer intimidation they are telling migrant seafarers that their only entitlement is to the Award wage rather than Enterprise Agreement rates of pay in force for a particular vessel or company, which in many cases means robbing migrant seafarers of 50% or more of their wages.
At the same time, Australian seafarers employed in the Offshore sector are seeing employment opportunities wind up prematurely as companies replace them with migrant workers using the skills shortage as a smokescreen.
"Skilled Australian seafarers are in shortage, but some employers are refusing to help address the skills shortage by training new seafarers or building their own industry. In fact, some employers have determined it is in their financial interest to do the opposite so they can keep ripping off vulnerable foreign workers right under the noses of the Australian community," said Mr Crumlin. "They have made the cold calculation it is worth booting an Australian worker off the ship so they can bully a migrant worker into accepting a 50% pay cut," Mr Crumlin added.
The ITF is calling on the Australian Government to close the Maritime Crew Visa loophole and direct its regulators and agencies to crack down on the growing abuses endemic to the Australian maritime industry. This must be done while rapidly upskilling the Australian workforce through new cadetships, new training opportunities, and procurement policies that prioritise Australian maritime workforces working in the national interest.
