The Federal government has unveiled a historic agreement with mining magnate Gina Rinehart to import 1700 overseas workers to fill jobs in her iron ore project in Western Australia.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/breaking-news/ginas-army-overseas-workers-take-mining-jobs/story-e6frg90f-1226367200766

Australian Workers' Union head Paul Howes said it beggared belief that this announcement today was made in the wake of recent jobs losses at Qantas and the Norsk Hydro aluminium smelter in NSW.

He said:

"It's a massive kick in the guts to those 130,000 workers in the manufacturing industry who have lost their jobs,"

I share his concerns.

What the hell is Gillard doing? Why isn’t every effort being made to employ Australians first?

Then perhaps any unfillable vacancies can be filled with imported workers as a last resort?

Your thoughts...

Ok Ludwig, let me try and explain it so that even a botanist can
understand it :)

Howes is merely singing for his supper from his union songsheet.

I'll try and explain it in a few key points.

The Roy Hill mine involves a 10 billion$ investment, employing
8000 people to build. Investors need a guarantee that the key
skilled people will be available in order for the project to
go ahead.

What the agreement means is that the company is given a guarantee
that they can use 457 workers up to 1700, if there are no Australians
who want those jobs or have those skills. They also guarantee to spend
a certain amount of millions on training etc.

Fact is that many Australians simply don't want to go up into the
heat, dust and flies of the outback Pilbara, when they can live
in cushy Melbourne or Sydney.

If the project does not go ahead, zilch Australians will be
employed, unlike now where thousands still will.

Aww gee Yabs, this is just too hard for my vwery small botwanical bwane to gwapple wif! ( :>(

So what you are saying is that Oz workers will get every opportunity to work for the lovely Ms Rinehart first and that overseas workers will only be brought in as a very last resort!

Well…. I wonder how true that really is?

Australian Council of Trade Unions leader Dave Oliver said:

"We are calling on the prime minister to immediately intervene to ensure before any workers are being brought in under the 457 visa program that there has been appropriate measures in place to ensure that the local market has been tested,"

So it sounds as though it is more a case of overseas workers being brought in regardless and that Oz workers will be competing directly with them for jobs, if not strongly disadvantaged in the job market by this.

How do we find out how true or false this is?

*So it sounds as though it is more a case of overseas workers being brought in regardless and that Oz workers will be competing directly with them for jobs, if not strongly disadvantaged in the job market by this.*

No it does not, Ludwig. It just sounds impressive if union leaders
say things to impress workers who don't know any better. The details
are in the press and make perfect sense. Fact is, with so many
mining projects on the go at once, we just don't have enough
geologists, mining engineers and similar.

I'll put it another way for you. Would you invest in a new car,
if you did not know that you can buy petrol? Well nobody is going
to start spending 10 billion bucks, if they arn't guaranteed that the
labour will be available. In fact its alot less work to employ
locals, but they have to actually exist, not just pinched from mine
site B, which solves nothing and simply increases the problem.

If Australians were available, they would be employed. It is not for everyone. The miners advertise here for anyone with a heartbeat to apply. They are only robbing labour from manufactures.
This is the first project that is going to need masses of labour.
Something like 500 billion worth of mining and gas projects.
African and chinese, labor will fill the gap.

It is proposed that more Australians will be trained than the number of imported workers.
And that 1 in 5 will be imported.
Right now,even in Newcastle, jobs have to be filled by imported workers.
Almost every one of us understands the fly in fly out process.
WA/SA/NT, just do not have enought workers now.
Lets look at Pacific Islanders coming to pick fruit in the NT.
And let us consider those ex manufacturing workers.
Half at least middle aged, half of those women, what skills do they hold for mining?
How many want to live there.
Or fly in fly out.
A question, Rechtub and his like stand on the chest of workers now, if we drain every other industry, and we nearly do, what of the eastern states, who holds the jobs?
It is a fact we must as other country's do, import some workers.
I value Paul, a present day leader and future PM maybe, but this complex issue deserves more thought.