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Australia – Top union official calls for temporary foreign workers to get the vote

24 July 2015

One of Australia’s most powerful union leaders has called on the government to give temporary foreign workers the right to vote in both federal and state elections, reports australiaforum.com.

Tony Sheldon, who is National Vice President of the Australian Labour Party and National Secretary of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), believes that people from overseas who pay tax should be able to vote.

They deserve the same rights as other Australians regardless of how long they intend to be in Australia, Mr Sheldon said, adding: “Only by giving migrant workers full democratic representation will their voices be heard, because politicians and the business elite will have to listen to their demands”.

He also believes that foreign workers often pay more into the system than Australian citizens. For example, they pay for health insurance and often for their children’s education in state schools.

Mr Sheldon said that he would like to see these kind of costs, especially education, taken care of by employers. “Often this cost is borne by the workers themselves, effectively amounting to an additional tax,” he pointed out.

“If employers want to bring migrant workers into Australia then they must be held responsible for ensuring they can share in the Australian way of life. This is a nation built on egalitarian values where workers are equal – this right must extend to all workers,” he added.

He also backs the idea of a tougher regime for employers, such as a licence or public register, that would create an extra layer of checks to ensure they abide by federal workplace laws.

The TWU also wants foreign workers to be given mandatory access to union representation upon arrival in Australia so that they know their legal rights and, if desired, how to negotiate improved wages and conditions.

“We need to get serious about protecting the rights of temporary foreign workers, because we should be fighting for this basic principle,” he said, adding that there should also be additional legal protections for overseas workers who lose their jobs in Australia.

Currently, temporary visa holders have 90 days to find another job if their employment ends and making them more vulnerable to exploitation.

“Only by protecting foreign workers do we protect everyone’s rights to a job with dignity. If we fail to do this our kids, our neighbours and our communities are doomed to have their lives also degraded by substandard work,” he concluded.