The union movement has accused the Federal Government of caving in to billionaire mining magnate Gina Rihehart over an agreement to allow more than 1,700 foreign workers into Western Australia for a mining project.
The agreement, the first of its kind, will allow Ms Rinehart’s $9.5 billion Roy Hill project in the Pilbara to sponsor overseas workers on 457 visas.
Ms Rinehart, Australia’s richest woman, has long called for easier access to foreign temporary workers to help fill shortages.
The Roy Hill project is expected to dig out 55 million tonnes of iron ore per year for 20 years by the end of 2014.
It will hire 6,700 Australian workers during its three-year construction phase, but says it will need another 1,700 workers from overseas on 457 visas, where the positions cannot be filled locally.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says the project will have massive economic benefits.
“The Government is committed to ensuring jobs arising from the project are filled locally,” he said.
“To this end the Government will establish a jobs board and expects that foreign workers are only recruited after genuine efforts to employ Australians.
“The jobs’ board will also be useful in assessing the case for future potential EMAs. Indeed, the agreement has specific clauses that will require both Roy Hill and its contractors to continue to prioritise the recruitment of Australians throughout the life of the project.”
He says the company did not get all it wanted, and that another 10 to 30 projects are negotiating with the Government for similar enterprise migration agreements.
But it has drawn an angry response from union leaders, who have accused the Government of “sheer lunacy”.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-25/agreement-to-bring-in-foreign-mine-workers/4033676
noce to know that she can’t be arsed to fund any training which means that people can be employed here.
