Migrant workers winning on pay | NEWS.com.au

Migrant workers winning on pay | NEWS.com.au SKILLED temporary migrant workers are earning on average $15,000 more than their Australian counterparts, undermining trade union claims that the system is being abused to undercut local wages. Figures obtained by The Australian show that holders of 457 visas, which allow temporary skilled migrants to work in Australia for up to four years, are earning more than the average salaries of local workers across all industries in which they are employed. The figures have reignited the debate over the use of foreign workers, with the Opposition seizing on the data as "dispelling the myth" that temporary skills workers are driving down wages, but unions and the Rudd Government insist that many visa holders are exploited by unscrupulous employers. The Howard government introduced the current 457 visa regime in response to a skills crisis crippling growth industries such as mining and information technology. Despite their use, skills shortages have worsened, with the Rudd Government citing them as a key contributor to upward pressure on inflation and interest rates and promising a massive program of skills training as part of its "education revolution". The 457 visas have been a key target of the union movement, with former ACTU secretary and now Labor MP Greg Combet declaring in 2006 that thousands of workers on the visas from countries with lower wages than Australia were being recruited and denied the chance to join trade unions.