Construction works at Roe Highway / Great Eastern Highway, Midland WA // TFA Photo

Skilled migration forums across Western Australia will be staged to provide employers with information on the skilled migration programs available to address their labour needs, a Department of Immigration and Citizenship media release announced.

The forums will be conducted by the WA Department of Training and Workforce Development.

At the forums, employers can get an overview of workforce planning by DTWD to address future skill needs in the state including sponsorship of overseas workers through the 457 visa program, permanent skilled migration options, employing overseas workers, and sourcing semi-skilled overseas workers through labour agreements and regional migration agreements.

The DIAC release also said that “the Australian Government announced as part of the Budget an increase in the skilled migration program and a range of new initiatives to help meet demand for skilled migrants.”

“The skill stream has increased by 12,000 places on 2010-11 program planning levels, to 125,850 places and policy initiatives are being implemented to assist Australian employers, businesses and regional areas to better address their skill needs.”

Skilled migration is a key strategy that WA has adopted to meet the state’s critical levels of skill shortages.

Filipino professionals are some of the beneficiaries of the demand for skilled workers. In early 2010, about 10,000 Filipinos were reported to be staying in Australia under the 457 visa scheme.

The Philippines occupies third place after UK and India in Australia’s 457 visa workforce.

Hoegh Autoliner at Fremantle Harbour // Photo: Anibeth Desierto

The 4,000-car carrier ship ‘Hoegh Autoliner’ recently docked at Fremantle Harbour is one of the more than 130 ships already built in the Philippines.

A product of one of the world’s leading medium-sized shipbuilders Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu) Inc., the ‘Hoegh Autoliner’ precedes the recently-finished “Tenshu Maru”, the biggest cargo vessel ever built in the Philippines launched last November by Philippine president Benigno Aquino III in the country’s shipbuilding region of Balamban, Cebu City.

Up until the 2009 economic recession, WA employed hundreds of Filipino skilled tradesmen on S457 visas in shipbuilding and repair in many local businesses like Austal ships which has recently pared down its Filipino skilled workforce.

D. Englis, one of Tsuneishi’s former field engineers in Cebu City who is now based in Perth says, “there are still many Filipino tradesmen skilled in shipbuilding and repair from Cebu who are here in WA contributing their expertise and knowledge to WA’s booming economy.”

“It is a great opportunity to be here and to be able to help maintain a secure future for our families while sharing our knowledge of shipbuilding for the benefit of our new country.”

Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu) Inc. in the Philippines is one of the world’s leading medium-sized companies in shipbuilding, ship repair and manufacturing, as well as outfitting of ships and vessels.

OFW members of the AMWU in the Filipino Metalworkers intend to run for positions in the union’s State Council and State Conference which gives OFWs a temporary visa holder voice in the union’s decision-making bodies.

Of 700 OFW metal tradesmen in Perth, the AMWU (WA) has recruited 218 in only 10 months in 31 enterprises including those within fabrication, heavy engineering, plastic manufacturing, shipbuilding and factory maintenance.

“Instead of a workplace approach during which we visit worksites to address workers’ grievances, we’ve taken a more community-oriented approach, literally living with the community – visiting houses and their social events, even playing basketball with them,” AMWU organizer Joel Asphar says.

“We’ve been agitating around one issue only which has been the deportation threats against the S457s/OFWs and because we’ve been able to stop these deportations and the guys now know what their rights are, our campaign focus has now changed to the issue of residency for our OFW members.”

On investigation of complaints received from their Australian members and from some Filipino workers, the AMWU found out that OFWs thought they had no rights at all, could not question their working conditions nor join a union and believed employers could deport S457 visa workers whenever they wished to.

The US State Department has said the Australian government’s S457 visa scheme has led to sex trafficking, debt bondage and slavery of migrants in Australia – in its ’2007 Trafficking in Person Report’.

Many of the OFWs ‘ grievances have been successfully resolved by the AMWU, winning disputes with employers and finding jobs for sacked OFWs.

“Australia has a proud tradition of migration and it is only this generation that has had to go through this temporary visa arrangement but despite this, our members will continue in their campaign to obtain permanent residency and continue this proud Australian tradition of migration,” Ashpar says.

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