Australian Immigration rort

Via The Currency Lad has invited bloggers and columnists to discuss something that has occured in Western Australia - so, taking my lead from Rob Corr and Mark Bahnisch:

The situation Twenty five South African tradesmen walked off jobs across Western Australia, last week, after the AMWU blew the whistle on a massive immigration rort. The boilermakers, pipe fitters and welders – earning as little as $11.45 an hour at Pt Hedland, Perth and Kalgoorlie – rallied in the WA capital, demanding Australian rates and relief from oppressive conditions tagged to their four-year immigration visas. [More from the AMWU website] The Aussie reaction "The AWU may well have some legitimate concerns, but to the degree that their stand has resonances with racism (and they ought to be aware of these resonances), they stand condemned." (M. Bahnisch, linked above) "I have no opposition to this if the workers are paid as Australian's get paid, and rights as workers are not unduly taken away. Same work, same pay is what I say." (Factory) "The inherent problem with this [allowing short-term refugees into Australia] is that there is no guarentee that they will only be short-term. After a certain number of years, if it is still not safe to send them back to their country, we have to gove them residence here (or get someone else to take them permanently). Obviously we will give residency to those refugees most useful to us. The Young abbortoir workers made their own case by offering to work outside the metro area in a less than salubrious job." (Harry) "The terms of those agreements [that the workers signed before entering Australia] are not “like everyone else in Australia"; they are loan-shark style deals designed to effectively indenture the worker." (R. Corr, linked above) "What is therefore implied [by the phrase, 'living in interesting times'] is hardship. That Mr Shorten is willing to accept that Chinese workers may be uniquely prone to such hardship seems to me to demonstrate a race-focused defeatism at best, intentional aloofness from their needs at worst. "Just like the old days." (Currency Lad) A Kiwi reaction Perhaps we've seen a similar situation with our wine growers? Australian visitors might like to check this out. It's a blatant assault on Australian worker's terms and conditions. You bring in one at a low wage, it's like a poison. It spreads to the rest of the workers in the office, the site, the region, the company, industry, country... Personally, I'd be madder than a cut snake if I found out there were people doing my job being paid less than me. It certainly would make my wage look high and bump it up the list of 'costs that could potentially be cut'. As Rob Corr notes (linked above), it is important to realise that this is guest workers we're talking about here in the wider picture, not Asians per se. Fair dinkum, bring workers in, just pay them the same as the people already doing that job.