Australia govt to discuss guest worker scheme

Updated on: Monday, September 05, 2011

Australia is set to discuss its first guest worker scheme to bring in foreigners to fill chronic labour shortages in the service sector.

Australia's first guest worker scheme will be discussed by the cabinet before end of the year at a meeting that would allow foreign workers to enter Australia for a specific job or employment in a designated industry, according to media reports.

The issue has come up after the tourism industry complained that the big wages of the mining boom were luring away its workforce.

Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said the plans would be considered by cabinet before the end of the year at a meeting with resort operators last Tuesday, the report said.

The workers would receive Australian pay and conditions, but would have to leave the country after a set period.

The service industries in major cities have a steady supply of workers but businesses in regional areas, particularly where the mining industry is competing for labour, are battling.

"It is an ongoing problem to find people; staff turnover can be quite high as well," a spokesman for the Tourism and Transport Forum said.

"In a lot of regional areas (businesses) are competing with mining jobs."

"Customer service is a big issue in Australian tourism," the spokesman said.

Industry sources have blamed the problem to drop in foreign students coming to Australia.

The students usually take a service industry job to help pay for their studies.

Australia govt to discuss guest worker scheme

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