This is the point I am making when the media, politicians and fruit growers don’t tell the public the truth about the fruit & Veg industry not being able to support permanent full-time jobs, and where people HAVE to TRAVEL interstate on a seasonal rotation to earn a living.

How many politicians would move from State to State every 3 months for work?

How many fruit growers would do the same, but they expect permanent resident Australian workers to be nothing more than bloody gypsies in travelling around the country side chasing work.

Maybe if these stupid politicians stopped importing 250,000 immigrants every 12 months into Australia, than Australian workers would be able to find jobs in their own bloody towns and States without having to resort to being travelling gypsies.

What’s also hurting Australians is that over 50% 125,000 immigrants have NO specific education or qualifications when they migrate to Australia, because the over 50% come here under the allowable “family reunion” scheme.   Therefore, we have the situation whereby over 125,000 migrants are arriving in Australia without even basic high school education or with limited school education that are competing for jobs against Australians born here.

Life_goes_on wrote on Dec 30^th, 2011 at 1:00pm:


Not all of the family reunion visas are for uneducated people.....lots are for professionals, the hang up is that, often, OUR government won't recognise the qualifications, either through arrogance (on Australia's part) or due to a lack of fluency in English..

gizmo_2655 wrote on Dec 30^th, 2011 at 1:14pm:


The educated professionals come in the other 125,000

AMWU tells DIAC to get 457-visa process right
Dec 22, 2011

The AMWU is fighting to end the exploitation of foreign workers.

The AMWU has called on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to overhaul the consultation process for employers who seek to hire overseas labour on 457 visas, in a submission made to the federal government in November.

AMWU National President Paul Bastian said the current system by which employers acquired 457 visa holders was flawed and failed to genuinely test labour conditions.   

“The only mechanism available to unions to ensure an introduction of 457 visa holders will not adversely impact local labour conditions is through consultation with the employer.

“As it currently stands there is little to no consultation. DIAC need to facilitate that process, with all consultation going through their office. “

Currently all employers seeking access to a 457 labour agreement must consult with unions about their proposed introduction of overseas labour.

However Mr Bastian said unions found their responses to those consultations were either ignored or not followed up by the employer.   

“If an employer doesn't pass on the AMWU response to DIAC, DIAC automatically assumes that the union has given tacit approval to the application. This process is open to exploitation by rogue employers and must be changed as soon as possible.

“The AMWU has very high standards and tests for labour agreements. These tests are designed to protect local labour wages, conditions and opportunity for local employment and to prevent the exploitation of foreign workers.

“Bringing the consultation through DIAC will ensure that the department considers the AMWU response when reviewing a labour agreement application.”

He said too often the unions were left to intervene later on when rogue employers were found to be underpaying or mistreating foreign workers.   

“Poorly tested 457 labour agreements not only adversely impact the lives of foreign workers but drag down wages and conditions across the industry.

“It is essential that we get the process right before employers are granted an open passage.”   

The department are now considering the AMWU and other stakeholder submissions and will announce their review into the system in early 2012.

If you know of 457 visa workers being exploited or an employer engaged in illegal activity please contact the AMWU Helpdesk 1300 732 698 or DIAC'S Immigration Dob-in Service on 1800 009 623 – toll free.

The job vacancies are a fiddle and so are the unemployment figures. Any fool would know that we have more than 5.3% on the dole queue. A huge proportion of work is casual and part-time which doesn't always cover the mortgage or rent.

Enter the usual suspects who declare there is plenty of work out there if they want it.

I'm pretty sure they want it.
.......................................................

Official figures masking massive job woes

FINANCE and insurance workers are among the hidden victims of an employment rout that has hit more than two million Australians over the past year, research has found.

While the official unemployment rate sits at 5.3 per cent, figures from Roy Morgan estimate work hardship really affects 16.8 per cent of the workforce - or 2.01 million Australians -who want either a full-time job or more hours to cope with living pressures.

The boom in mining jobs of 18 per cent over the past year masks falls of more than 6 per cent in finance and insurance, in wholesale and property and business services, the data says. Employment in manufacturing has also gone backwards by almost 5 per cent.

But University of Melbourne researcher Roger Wilkins says underemployment is the real concern of the moment.

“Underemployment is a significant issue particularly if it rises faster than unemployment, which it seems to have done,” Mr Wilkins said.

“At an individual level the effects of underemployment are quite similar to unemployment - it’s associated with low income, low life-satisfaction and general unhappiness.”

Roy Morgan estimates that real unemployment is at 8.6 per cent, which is 3.3 per cent higher than the official figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and underemployment is 8.2 per cent.

Workers in the retail, community services, and general services industries are crying out for more work, with many part-time employees unable to get the amount of work they need.

Almost 16 per cent of retail workers, 17 per cent of workers in the hospitality and recreation, and 8.8 per cent of community services say they are underemployed.

Mr Wilkins said the ABS official unemployment figures do not reflect the full story of how the economy was performing at the moment.

“There is a false sense of complacency about how the labour market is performing that is generated by the benign unemployment situation,” he said. “There needs to be increased emphasis on underemployment.”

The slowdown in the demand for workers was further highlighted by job vacancy figures this week which suffered the biggest annual fall in nine years.

The figures released by the ABS showed job vacancies in Australia falling 3.3 per cent in the three months to November, bringing the overall growth rate down by 6.3 per cent.

In addition to jobs growth in mining, electricity, gas and water grew by 13 per cent and communication by 12.8 per cent.

http://www.news.com.au/business/two-million-austrailans-looking-for-more-work/st...