The China Free Trade Agreement isn’t about Chinese workers ‘stealing Australian jobs’; it is about exploitation
Posted by John, September 28th, 2015 - under China Free Trade Agreement, Chinese workers, Jobs, Trade unions, Unions.
In the latest edition of Solidarity James Supple rebuts the argument that under the China Free Trade Agreement Chinese workers will ‘steal’ Australian jobs. He says in part:
‘The problem is not with migrant workers coming here but the potential for exploitation as a result of the new agreements. Instead of a xenophobic campaign, unions should be demanding a role in negotiating conditions for migrant workers under IFAs and for their right to join unions. We also need to demand an end to the visa conditions that make them reliant on their employer to stay in Australia and for the right to permanent migration.’
Click here to read the whole article, China deal: the issue is exploitation, not immigration.
Comment from Lorikeet
Time September 29, 2015 at 9:23 am
Nice sentiments, but both Labor and Liberals support whatever their corporate mates want…and that is access to slave labour.
Also when Chinese workers take jobs, it lands more Australians on the dole queue.
So there are 2 problems, that would only be solved by electing more people to the cross benches, encouraging workers to form new unions that are not affiliated with the ACTU (and global union bodies) and ramping up Australian manufacturing.
In short, it would be a move away from globalisation which would need to include a steady u-turn and windback from a superannuation system to a government pension system, so capitalists don’t have control of our cash and use it to screw us.