ETU in-fighting over migrant workers continues

In-fighting between the Victorian and National branches of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) continues, with the Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) saying Dean Mighell’s statements about foreign workers are “just plain wrong”.

Yesterday, Mighell responded to reports that the National ETU is negotiating to import up to 2000 skilled electrical workers from the US to fill the shortfall in Australia’s resources sector. Mighell claimed the Victorian Branch of the ETU was not consulted and called the National Branch’s actions a “disgraceful betrayal of existing and future Australian electrical workers and apprentices”.

But Allen Hicks, Assistant National Secretary of the CEPU, has hit back at Mighell’s comments, claiming that all ETU branches were involved in meetings discussing foreign workers.

“Explicit discussions were had about the need to ensure that if there was a need into the future that any foreign labour brought in to the country did not comprise cowboys who put public and worker safety at risk, and were not used as a strike breaking force or to undercut local wages and conditions,” Hicks said.

According to Hicks, the CEPU believes that Australians should be the first to fill positions created by the resources boom. However, Hicks said, if there is a need for foreign workers to fill gaps in the sector, the CEPU wants to ensure the workers are properly trained and skilled - and preferably union members.

Hicks also claimed that resources companies are failing to engage enough apprentices to ensure Australian workers can fill the shortfall in the resources sector.

“We will never accept a situation where foreign workers undermine the conditions of Australian trade union members. The real solution here is a massive expansion in the number of apprentice electricians working these jobs,” Hicks said.

The apprentice situation seems to be one that both Hicks and Mighell agree on. “Already we know the mining sector is lagging in apprentice numbers where it should be boosting training so Australian workers get to reap the future benefits of the mining boom,” Mighell said.

But despite both parties having similar interests at heart, Mighell isn’t impressed with the National ETU’s actions. “You’d expect this sort of thing from Gina Rinehart and her mining billionaire mates, but for it to come from a union leadership defies imagination.”