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Essay / Why the Australian Government Should Consider Reissuing the 457 Visa
457 Visa: A Ticket to Exploitation The world has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Technology has enabled an increasingly globalized world. It is becoming easier for people to move around and be connected internationally. The workplace has evolved with the world, expanding to every region of the globe (Beck 2007, 690). More recently, short-term contractual agreements have become more popular in the workplace. While these new temporary work arrangements create new opportunities, they also create a more precarious work situation. Precarious work, according to Burgess and Campbell (2013), is associated with a few themes, including: the absence of protective regulations, short and uncertain working hours, the absence of “standard” social benefits and ambiguous conditions. legal status. This new precarious work situation has both positive and negative impacts for the industrial worker. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe Australian Government offers a Temporary (Skilled) Work Visa (Subclass 457), hereinafter referred to as the 457 Visa. Under this visa, a worker, sponsored by an approved company, is permitted to work for up to four years in Australia, provided they are not unemployed for more than 28 consecutive days. It is designed to enable employers to hire international workers where there is a shortage of qualified Australian workers. According to the Australian Parliament government page, this is the most commonly used program to sponsor foreign workers on a temporary basis (Larsen 2013). A careful examination of Visa 457 and its effects will show that the negative impacts far outweigh the positive impacts of this new precarious work situation. In fact, it seems that companies are able to exploit skilled migrant workers through the 457 visa. The first benefit of the skilled migrant worker is the hope of a better life. Skilled migrant workers, often from developing countries, view a temporary work visa as a way to start a new and better life (Bahn & Barratt-Pugh & Yap 2012, 382). Although the reasons for moving vary from person to person – whether it's better pay, increased chances of finding a job, career opportunities or escaping corruption – it It goes without saying that the move to Australia should be positive. . The worker is allowed to relocate their family during the duration of the visa and enroll their children in local schools. Spouses are also allowed to work. Additionally, at the end of the four-year period, the worker can apply to become an Australian citizen, allowing them to live in Australia for the rest of their life. Second, skilled migrant workers are considered essential to the Australian economy and society. As more countries begin to compete for Australia's natural resources, more skilled workers are needed to fill the growing number of skilled jobs available. The need for qualified workers is really great. In the United States, immigrant workers represent 22% of workers in fast-growing occupations (OECD 2014). It can be inferred that migrant workers will also make up a high percentage of workers in Australia's growing resources market. These skilled workers are generally young and ambitious and can stay in the job market for a very long time.long, which improves the fluidity of the labor market (Bahn & Barratt-Pugh & Yap 2012, 386). Additionally, workers are integrated into Australian society and become consumers of Australian products, creating demand for goods and leading to more job creation. The effects of migrant workers are so large that if the number of skilled migrants reached 300,000 by 2050, the projected GDP growth rate is predicted to be nearly 2.4 times higher than expected if no new migrant workers entered Australia (Bahn & Barratt-Pugh & Yap 2012, 388). A prosperous host country offers a better quality of life for the migrant worker and their family. Unfortunately, temporary work has some negative aspects. Any change to the 457 visa means current or pending applicants must start over, which can cost thousands of dollars and even lose up to two years (Bahn & Barratt-Pugh & Yap 2012, 394). Additionally, since being unemployed for a prolonged period is a violation of visa conditions, there is the possibility of being exploited at work, especially if one is unable to find alternative employment. An anonymous blogger describes being unable to find even entry-level work in Melbourne, even though he is highly skilled and educated (Bahn & Barratt-Pugh & Yap 2012, 393). A very exploitative situation is at work. On the one hand, the skilled worker must work to stay in the country. As we will show later, there is a possibility of exploitation at work. However, even if the skilled worker wants to find a new job, the chances of finding one are slim, as the anonymous skilled blogger shows. Worse still, as soon as the worker leaves their job, there is likely another unemployed skilled migrant ready to take their place. It is possible that the large unemployed skilled migrant labor force makes the worker more “disposable,” making them even more exploitable as there are many more people willing to replace them. There are also negative social implications. Although professional English is required for workers to apply for the visa, a large number of workers' families do not speak English. Additionally, many of these families cannot afford the necessary English classes for their children (Bahn & Barratt-Pugh & Yap 2012, 385). This could prove to be a huge barrier to assimilation and quality of life. According to one anonymous blogger, the government does not contribute to assimilation: “It's you, me and the guy next door who are promoting this” (Bahn & Barratt-Pugh & Yap 2012, 394). In fact, it does not appear that the government is fully prepared to welcome immigrants. A community member mentioned that public services like roads, schools and hospitals do not receive enough funding to keep up with the increase in population due to immigration. Additionally, the new workplace creates a generation gap between parents and children. Sennett explains how Rico, a father, is unable to teach his children commitment because his home life and work life don't match. Due to his changing workplace, he is unable to show commitment to his work, instead moving from one project to another (Sennett 1998). There is no example for his son to follow, which causes great concern for Rico. Finally, there is concern about the effects of a “knowledge drain”, when large numbers of skilled workers leave a developing country, on the latter. This could hamper the developing country's growth, perhaps reducing the migrant worker's chances of returning to their country of origin. The 457 visa is »..