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<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">Dear members</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">As many of you would be aware there has increased media attention over the use of</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">guest labour</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman"> on short term contracts</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">,</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">as way to both supply skilled labour, but also to</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">under cut union conditions.</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">Below is an article</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">on the issue</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">written by Ian Bray, assistant secretary</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">of the Western Australian branch of the Maritime Union of Australia</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">,</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">which</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman"> I thought members would be interested in. It is</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">from the current issue of</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">WA MUA b</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">ranch</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">’</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">s newspaper</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">the</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><I></I></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><I></I></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><I></I></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><I> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">Maritime Worker</FONT></I></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman"> and reprinted in this week</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">’</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">s issue of</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><I></I></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><I></I></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><I></I></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><I> <FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">Green Left Weekly</FONT></I></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">.</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman"></FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">C</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">hris</FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">Temporary visas: Howard and employers stoop to new low</FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">Ian Bray </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B>Everyone is aware of the implications of the terrible Work Choices legislation. However, there is another Trojan Horse the government and employers are using to attack our rights and conditions — the so-called skills shortage is being used as an excuse to bring in workers on temporary work visas.</B> </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">Migrants have helped to make this country what it is. The Greeks, Italians, Chinese, Kiwis, “10 pound Poms” and many other workers from around the world who made Australia home have contributed greatly to the union movement and other aspects of our life and culture. These migrants were given permanent residency with full citizenship rights. </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">But now something sinister is happening. Employers are using temporary visas to bring in workers on short-term contracts. Typically these workers are offered individual agreements (AWAs) on inferior pay and conditions. Often these workers are not familiar with occupational health and safety acts or their legal rights. In any case, the boss has them over a barrel because the workers depend on them for their job, visa and, often, accommodation. Employers may also offer the carrot of permanent residency and sponsoring their family to come out too. But this is not guaranteed, and if the worker complains, the boss can simply cancel their visa. </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">We’ve already seen how bosses are prepared to treat Australian workers at the Cowra abattoir. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how they’d treat workers on temporary visas from the Philippines, Korea or South Africa. </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">How do employers do this? Here’s an example: The boss puts an ad in the paper for a welder, but offers pay well below the going rate knowing full well that no one will take the job. They then go to the department of immigration saying they can’t fill the position and ask for permission to bring in a guest worker on a short-term visa. </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">For employers the benefit is twofold: first, they create a super-exploitable class of workers that they hope will be too afraid to stand up for their rights. With the slashing of awards down to five minimum conditions, these workers can be ripped off even more than before, and secondly, they hope that this arrangement will put downward pressure on the wages and conditions of all workers. </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">It would be easy to blame the migrant workers for this situation. But put yourself in their shoes. They arrive in a country with a different language and culture and may only have a limited understanding of their rights. Even their living quarters may be controlled, with the rent set by the boss and deducted from their pay. If they do speak out they can be threatened with deportation. The possibilities for exploitation and abuse are endless. </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">These international workers are not the enemy; they are struggling against the same forces as us. Some come from countries where unionists are murdered every day. We must not allow ourselves to fall into seeing it as foreign worker versus domestic worker. Howard is a master of using the divide-and-rule tactic to take the heat off his government. </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">A fair dinkum solution to the skills shortage would mean doing the following two things: First, implement a comprehensive training program. Every employer wants skilled workers but none want to pay for the training. For example P&O Fremantle, with nearly 300 employees, don’t have a single apprentice on their books. Larger firms should be obliged to put on a certain number of apprentices in proportion to their size. This would create career paths for thousands of young Australians. Secondly, if we are still short of skilled labour, then we should let migrant workers settle here with full citizenship rights, including the right to vote Howard and the other bastards out! </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">Right now we must get employers to do the training and put on apprentices. But we must also do what we can to protect workers on short-term visas by joining them to the union and getting them on enterprise agreements. It’s a complex issue and we have to work with other unions, locally, nationally and internationally, to find solutions. We are forging links with international unions and we’ll develop this at the maritime workers’ union state conference in July. Most importantly, we need to put the blame for this problem where it belongs — on Howard and the employers. </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">[Ian Bray is the assistant secretary of the WA branch of the Maritime Union of Australia.]</SPAN></P>
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