SENATE SUPPORTS LABOR AMENDMENT SO LOCAL WORKERS GET THE FIRST SHOT AT LOCAL JOBS

The Senate has voted 38 to 28 in favour of a Labor amendment to ensure local workers are given the first opportunity to apply for a local job before an employer can apply to bring in an overseas worker.

 

Labor’s amendment to the Migration Amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Bill 2017 will guarantee labour market testing to require:

jobs to be advertised for a minimum of four weeks;

endif]job advertisements to be targeted so Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents would see them, rather than ads targeting overseas workers;

advertising to set out any skills or experience requirements that are appropriate to the position, rather than unrealistic or unwarranted skills; and

labour market testing to have to be conducted no more than four months before the nomination of a visa.

 

The out-of-touch Turnbull Government voted against putting these important labour market testing conditions in legislation.

 

Instead, Turnbull and his conservatives expect Australians to trust Peter Dutton to do the right thing by local workers.

 

Only Labor will establish the Australian Skills Authority – an independent, labour market testing body to determine genuine skills needs and restrict temporary work visas so that they are only made available when a genuine skills gap cannot be met with local workers.

 

Labor will always fight for local workers to have the first shot at local jobs.

 

When will the out-of-touch Turnbull Government stand up for local workers and support labour market testing?