Australian Workers Scheme Defended

Written by Pio Sioa
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
VISITING : Australia’s Minister For Home Affairs Duncan Kerr, in a meeting yesterday with SUNGO at the civil society head office at Malifa. The visiting Australian Minister for Home Affairs, Duncan Kerr, has stoutly defended the seasonal workers scheme and the promise that it provides employment for island workers. “The hiring of seasonal workers from the islands is co-incidental, we have a small labour force so this provides employment opportunities to take advantage of,” the Minister said during a visit to the Samoa Umbrella For Non Governmental Organisations SUNGO. Kerr pointed to the benefits of the scheme boosting remittances that the imported workers will be able to send home to their families. He also added that the workers are only in Australia on a temporary basis. ‘It is not like they are coming to Australia to stay, they are only there for a while before coming back home again.” The Home Minister felt that the seasonal workers would cover for workers in Australian who are not there. Australian critics of the scheme, worried that it will result in the 'Mexicanisation' of the job market. An example was made visa workers who were found ‘time and again in the past five years to be underpaid and exploited and deported if they claimed unfair treatment. “Given that the capital investment and many natural resources is centered in Australia and little short to medium term of a rush of capital or discovery of resources in the pacific islands, why not promote a scheme that provides a lucrative income stream into island economies,” one critic argued. Critics noted that there are ”many horror stories to be told about the abuse of such schemes, however if Government do not try and evolve such policies into working models, it’s the island economies that will suffer more than that of Australia.” The example was based on a workers scheme in the past where the people brought in were exploited by employers who threatened to deport them back to their countries if the complained. The go ahead for the scheme to involve a call up of workers from Samoa remains to be firmed up. A similar scheme is already underway in New Zealand, where several seasonal workers from Samoa are currently employed. Most are employed as fruit pickers company farms in New Zealand. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 June 2008 )

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