#StopTPP :Australia's Free Trade Agreements are driving industrial relations 'reforms' by stealth

 This is the state of play after just over a year of Abbott LNP secret trade negotiations. You would be forgiven for thinking that their job is to sell down the rights of Australian people and install Corporate control. The previous Labor Government were no better and in opposition still enthusiastically support secret negotiations and the people having no say in these deals which directly impact us. And this is before we look at the 
Trans Pacific Partnership

Australia's Free Trade Agreements are driving industrial relations 'reforms' by stealth http://t.co/xg6D8em7PY #KAFTA #ChAFTA #TPP #qldvotes
— Mick Peel (@Mick_Peel) January 20, 2015

KAFTA expands scope for the “movement in natural persons” -- temporary migrant workers -- engaged in contractual service, but the issue of visas is not subject to the safeguards that ensure compliance with established industry employment standards, unlike the 457-visa stipulations. A second KAFTA visa category enables increases in 457 visa labour recruitment while removing the labour market testing requirement.

This weakening of labour market protections comes on the back of the Abbott government’s introduction of “designated area migration agreements”. These permit employers to hire low-skilled and semi-skilled 457 visa workers in the Northern Territory to work in non-resource sector industries. These agreements no longer mandate the strict foreign worker employment requirements of the 457 visa program, relax the language test and set a lower income threshold that permits employers to pay a wage 10 per cent below the industry market rate.

This erosion of labour market protections could be underscored by the proposal to extend the duration of the short-term mobility visa for skilled workers, announced in October. This visa does not set minimum language proficiency requirements nor does it require compliance with 457-visa employment standards.

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