Woohoo! Unemployment has hit 14 Year High. No need to worry about ‘Work Choices’ anymore, because there will be no Jobs available. #notfittogovern #LNPSociopaths #blockedbybishop
***Blanket exemption from 457 labour market testing for all Korean nationals
Korean Australian Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA)
• Exemption from labour market testing for all Korean nationals in the standard 457 visa program
• Comes a day after unemployment levels hit a 14 year high
• Employers in Australia will no longer have to seek qualified locals to fill vacancies in the skilled trade,
nursing and engineering occupations
• Employers will no longer have to prove none could be found, before 457s are approved for Koreans
• Labour market testing is permanently banned in all other 457 occupations from now on
Our beloved Government had initially refused to tell the public the truth about what it was giving away
in the KAFTA. It’s now been revealed the Government is giving labour market testing (LMT) exempt
status to all Korean nationals in the 457 visa program.
This is another attack on Australian workers’ job security. These blanket 457 visa concessions should
not even be in Free Trade Agreements, they have nothing to do with international trade.
Furthermore, KAFTA is binding on future governments, so no Australian government in the future can
require LMT for Korean nationals in the 457 visa program.
The revelation also raises great concerns that the China FTA will feature similar exemptions.
The Abbott Government won’t come clean on the detail of the China FTA but all indications are it is
headed in the same direction.
It simply beggars belief that with rising unemployment, and thousands of young people looking for
their first full-time job, the Government would make it even easier for employers to bypass qualified
local workers.”
Similar language to describe access by temporary overseas workers has been applied to both agreements.
The Korean FTA uses the term “contractual service suppliers”, and the Abbott Government has said that
the China FTA will give “guaranteed access” to Chinese workers who are contractual service suppliers.
The Real News Channel Australian Labor Party The Australian Greens CFMEU – Construction & General