457 Visa Statistics from The Australian Newspaper 15/3/08

an article about the 457 Visa in todays Edition of the Australian Newspaper
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,23377595-2702,00.html

attached some info which isnt avaiable in the web edition ,
it seems the 457 becomes an entry tool for workers from developing countries , from my own experience the danger becomes apparent that this may lead to a further wages push downwards in some of the affected industries .

Zitat

As the new temporary foreign workers change the face of Australia's workplaces, business groups yesterday called for an immediate boost to skills training positions and unions [COLOR=red]expressed concern that increasing reliance on developing-country workers risked lowering general wages[/COLOR].

[Blockierte Grafik: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a168/Bobo1980/Australien%20Forum/45722.jpg]

Und dazu kommt dann noch die Tatsache das diese Fachkräfte in Entwicklungsländern wie Deutschland fehlen.

Hm, ntf: wir wären auch gern in deutschland geblieben. Aber leider sieht dort die zukunft nicht rosig aus. Mal abgesehen von der Konjunktur-Flaute:

Würden arbeitskräfte in deutschland mehr geschätzt und in vielen branchen auch dementsprechend bezahlt, würde die abwanderung nur halb so stark sein.

Wenn ich überlege, dass mein Freund als Koch hier in 2,5 Wochen das Geld verdient, was er in Deutschland in einem Monat hatte... Klar spielen regionale unterschiede mit rein - aber wir hatten beide in unseren letzten jobs nicht das gefühl, geschätzt zu werden. Hier in australien, geht man am abend nach hause und der vorgesetzte bedankt sich bei einem!

Und deutschland würde ich nicht als entwicklungsland bezeichnen - warte mal noch 3-5 jahre ;o)

marty: I agree with the fact that this may push the wages - especially in hospitality. I do not want to be discriminating, but it seems, that the majority from countries like india and pakhistan is working as cook/chef.

*nadine*

@ Nadine
you might want to read this story

the chef in the above picture / article actually applied 3 times for the 457 visa and is since 12 years in Australia

Zitat

Shivlal Arriyal and his nephew Dev Prasad Aryal are among the growing number of professionals from South Asia working in Australia on 457 visas. The visa allows skilled workers to gain sponsorship for employment in [COLOR=red]Australia for up to four years[/COLOR].

Mr Arriyal has been working in the kitchen of Balmain's Indian Palace Restaurant for the past 12 years. He loves his job and said he has [COLOR=red]reapplied for the 457 visa three times so he can continue working in Australia.[/COLOR]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,…5013404,00.html

well, i had no mean intentions in writing the above.

This is just the "common" picture you get, when you look in the typical restaurant / cafe kitchen. Not only chefs, but cooks and kitchenhands as well are from South Asia.

The successor of my last place pushed the wages to $12 p.h. for a chef - she always told them, there are plenty of people, who would love to work for that money.

I think the chef from the article is one in a million other cases. A lucky and a happy one!

*nadine* , nicht alles so ernst nehmen.

na ich geb mein bestes...

Zitat

Original von *nadine*
well, i had no mean intentions in writing the above.

This is just the "common" picture you get, when you look in the typical restaurant / cafe kitchen. Not only chefs, but cooks and kitchenhands as well are from South Asia.

The successor of my last place pushed the wages to $12 p.h. for a chef - she always told them, there are plenty of people, who would love to work for that money.

I think the chef from the article is one in a million other cases. A lucky and a happy one!

I could not detect any meanness , what are you talking about ?????
==================
I worked long enough in Hospitality to have seen enough dirty tricks , enough for another lifetime at least .
always check the Award and Conditions [ I think I PN'ed you before about that subject ]
===================

if you read between the lines of the Newspaper story , you can see the typical signs of Chain Immigration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_immigration

ahhh, always feel bad, when talking stereotype about a nationality... that's all!

Yes, you're right about the PN!

Just being curious: how easy is it to fool the DIAC in handing them an employment contract with the minimum salary, but actually paying less?

I still think, that one big problem with this visa is, that you indeed have the right to complain about a breach of contract, but on the other hand there's this fear of losing the job. So IMO a lot of 457 holders sh** up and work.

Nadine
have a read here

http://www.katelundy.com.au/may06.htm
[about Hospitality ]
and here

Zitat

ACTU from 2006
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs admitted in its annual report released last week that less than two thirds of employers sponsoring migrants on the visas were monitored last year, down from almost 100 per cent in the previous two years.
The Government has also admitted that site checks were conducted on only 18 per cent of employers hiring migrants on the visas - short of the Department's own target of 25 per cent.
The drop in compliance checks came as the number of workers who were issued s457 visas grew by more than 40 per cent in 2005-06, to 40,000 and the number of employer sponsors grew by 20% to nearly 10,000," said Ms Burrow.
"The Federal Government's overseas worker program is creating a group of second-class workers in Australia. It is a program that is out of control and should be immediately halted," said Ms Burrow.

http://www.actu.asn.au/Campaigns/Your…th457Visas.aspx

Google http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q…=cr%3DcountryAU

and the amendet Migration Bill Amendment 2007
the Government Blah Blah ,

Zitat

Complaints of rorting and abuse
There have been many complaints of problems with the 457 visa system. “Unions want the rules tightened after it was revealed that 20 overseas workers had died in the past five years…There have been allegations of employer abuse and underpayment and the government has been at pains to tighten up the scheme to preserve its integrity.” [7]

“There have been many reported cases in the media of alleged situations where 457 visas have been abused by employers. Examples have included underpayment of wages or no payment for overtime, discrimination on the basis of union membership, workplace safety and training requirements not being met and 457 workers being used as strike breakers.” [8]

During Estimates hearings, answers to questions on notice have revealed that there are certain industries at risk. Those industries where a number of breaches of sponsor undertakings have occurred are in the following industry sectors:

construction
manufacturing

and here we can see , the Hospitality sector isnt up to any good , [ ED Marty]

[SIZE=16][COLOR=red]accommodation, cafes, restaurants[/COLOR][/SIZE]
agricultural and forestry. [9]
‘There have been allegations made against 10 companies in the meat industry since January 2006.’ [10]

Of the 300 subclass 457 visa sponsors under investigation by Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 70 have been referred to other agencies for their investigation as at 19 February 2007. “Referrals are usually made once DIAC has sufficient evidence to warrant this.” [11]

What happens currently if there is a breach in sponsor undertakings
According to Form 1196, sponsorship undertakings are currently monitored. The Department requires sponsors to provide monitoring information, including employment records. The Department may also undertake site visits to ensure compliance with undertakings. If a business sponsor fails to provide information requested during monitoring, does not fulfil sponsorship undertakings or provides incorrect information to the Department, the Department may then bar the business from sponsoring or nominating employees for a specified period of time, cancel the business sponsorship agreement and/or cancel the visas of employees the business has sponsored. [12]

Penalties proposed in the Bill
A breach of an obligation under the Bill will incur a civil penalty. The penalty for an individual is 60 penalty units and for a body corporate it is 300 penalty units. For a breach of an obligation contained in the regulations, the regulations may prescribe a civil penalty not exceeding 50 penalty units for an individual and 250 penalty units for a body corporate. [13] Section 4AA of the Crimes Act 1914 defines a penalty unit as $110.

Criminal penalties have not been used for the reasons set out in the Explanatory Memorandum:

The justification for use of civil penalty provisions, as opposed to criminal sanctions, is that the imposition of criminal sanctions on sponsors could have harsh consequences on the sponsor such as a loss of their export licence (or any other licence for that matter), which would not be in Australia’s best interest. The use of civil provisions is also considered appropriate for the enforcement scheme to be flexible and administratively manageable. The use of civil penalties will increase compliance with migration legislation (and other relevant laws), thereby preserving the integrity of the Australian labour market and improving the conditions of overseas workers. In addition, the justification for no fault civil penalty offences is to facilitate an infringements notices regime. A power has been included to provide for such a regime in the Migration Regulations 1994. (See item 46 which inserts new paragraph 504(1)(jb). [14]
Infringement Notices Regime

Alles anzeigen

Zitat

Obligation to pay at least a Minimum Salary Level

New subsection 140IC(1) provides that the approved sponsor will pay a salary at or above the level that is worked out in a way specified by the Minister from time to time and pay the person who is not in Australia when the visa is granted either on the day the person commences working for the approved sponsor or 28 days after the person arrives in Australia, whichever is the earlier date (new subsection 140IC(1)(b)(i)). If the person is already in Australia, the day on which the person starts work or 28 days after the visa is granted, whichever is the earlier. A civil penalty applies for a breach of new subsection 140IC (1).

New subsection 140IC(2) provides that a legislative instrument may specify ways in which the level of salary is worked out according to different occupations, persons working in different geographical areas and any other circumstances that the Minister considers appropriate. Mechanisms may be included to vary the level on specified days or at the end of specified periods. This would allow indexation of the level of salary by a specified percentage on a particular day each year without the need to re-make the legislative instrument. [28] New subsection 140IC(3) provides that the obligation on the sponsor is satisfied if the sponsor has arranged with another person to pay some or all of the person’s salary, for example the Explanatory Memorandum mentions workers compensation insurance for the primary person. Any shortfall in the salary of the primary person is to be met by the sponsor. Subsection (3) only applies if the sponsor has paid the costs, such as a premium for example, of the arrangement with the other person (new subsection 140IC(4)).

Obligation to employ primary person in the same or a higher-skilled activity

New section 140ID provides that there is an obligation to employ the primary person in the same or a higher skilled activity as the nominated activity for which the visa was granted in the first place. A civil penalty applies for a breach of this obligation.

http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/Pubs/bd/2007-08/08bd026.htm

Very interesting!

Zitat

ACTU from 2006
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs admitted in its annual report released last week that less than two thirds of employers sponsoring migrants on the visas were monitored last year, down from almost 100 per cent in the previous two years.

It is a program that is out of control and should be immediately halted," said Ms Burrow.

Outch, this kind of explains the last sentence. So, basically it says, that the employee has to contact the DIAC, as they are not able to monitor their businesses.

Zitat

What happens currently if there is a breach in sponsor undertakings

If a business sponsor fails to ..., the Department may then ..., cancel the business sponsorship agreement and/or cancel the visas of employees the business has sponsored.

Yeah, right - punish the ones, who are already in trouble. So given this fact, why should a 457 holder complain at all? Outcome A: your boss fires you or Outcome B: The visa is cancelled. What's the opposite of the term "win-win-situation"?!

I guess, there most certainly is a positive side for the ones affected, but not at first sight.

Thanks Marty, for all the research!

as a follow-up an article from todays news.com.au:

[URL=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23392515-421,00.html]Migrant workers winning on pay[/URL]

SKILLED temporary migrant workers are earning on average $15,000 more than their Australian counterparts
[...]

The average yearly salary for a 457 visa holder was about $71,600, more than $15,000 above the average salary of about $55,500.
[...]

Most employers paid market-rate wages and valued the contribution of temporary migrants, Senator Evans said

Regards,
socceroo

Chef's saga of woe shows up problems with 457 visa

Zitat

Mr Reyes came to Australia from Chile in February last year to work as a chef at Sombrero's. Mr Pikios knew of Mr Reyes through Sydney relatives of the Chilean, and sponsored him under a 457 visa.

Although employed under the skilled migrant worker scheme as a chef, Mr Reyes was soon chief cook and bottle-washer at the restaurant. His daughter, Natalie, also worked at Sombrero's in various capacities.

The work relationship deteriorated, Mr Pikios says, when Mr Reyes "refused to clean or sweep or do a lot of the things we asked him to do. He had worked at a five-star resort in Chile and seemed to think he was too good for this. He did not learn English, and seemed to be a left-wing, unionist type, always demanding more."

But under the terms of the 457 visa a skilled worker such as a chef is meant to do only that skilled work, not menial labour. Mr Reyes says: "I did everything I was meant to do, and improved the kitchen very much."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/…4998283805.html