CFMEU welcomes green card initiative

Date: 03 December 2002

The CFMEU welcomes the initiative of the Federal opposition to protect Australian and overseas workers through the setting up of a green card system for guest workers in Australia.

In recent years the Federal Government has allowed temporary (guest) workers into Australia to be used as cheap labour, undermining Australian labour standards.

The CFMEU has campaigned for the rights of visa workers for over three years. The Union has exposed shocking cases of exploitation of visa workers, including-

• Eight Indian stonemasons massively underpaid while building a Hindu temple in Helensburgh south of Sydney
• South African national Oagiles Malothane, brought into Australia on a business visa to work construction, underpaid, injured and abducted after the Lake Cargelligo water tower collapse
• Three South African chefs brought to Australia as guest workers and paid $50 a week at a Manly restaurant
• Serbian national Rados Stevanovic, brought to Australia as a specialist muralist and paid less than $1 per hour for nearly two years

CFMEU State Secretary Andrew Ferguson believes that the Federal Government needs to urgently match the opposition's initiative.

"The Government needs to act urgently to stop employer exploitation of visa workers and rorting of our immigration laws and to protect Australian jobs."

For further information

Contact:	Phil Davey
Union:	CFMEU
Phone:	0414 867188

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