Pipe jobs go to foreign labour
Skilled Group workers involved in laying the billion-dollar 889km subsea pipeline linking the Ichthys gas-condensate field off the Kimberley with Darwin are facing a bleak Christmas amid heightened concerns they will lose their jobs to overseas labour.
Skilled, which has supplied about 600 workers to Italian contractor Saipem to work on pipelaying vessels, has told the largely Perth-based fly-in, fly-out crew a shift was under way to employ more foreign workers while rosters had also changed, from a three-week on, three-week off routine to four-and-four.
It is understood about 90 Skilled workers have been told they will not be retained for the second stage of the Ichthys job, to be carried out on the Castorone, a 330m long hi-tech vessel capable of laying pipe in deep waters.
There had been expectations by the Skilled workers they would be retained for the entire pipeline job. However, Saipem's push for foreign workers and a new roster and productivity target are expected to see at least 200 foreign workers employed.
Skilled refused to comment.
A shift to foreign labour is likely to also be a blow for Skilled.
The labour hire company has sent letters to workers declaring "Saipem has explored the option of bringing international crews to complete the Castorone scope of the work, which would replace Australian crew on the vessel".
Skilled added that Saipem's push was "legal under current immigration guidelines (but following) constructive dialogue between all parties, a proposed agreement has been reached which would see Australian crew employed in as many roles as possible on board the Castorone".
Critics claim Skilled's trade-off with Saipem has sparked a family unfriendly new roster and higher productivity targets that are designed to force out local workers.
Federal Member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan, who has unsuccessfully campaigned against changes to the Commonwealth's 457 visa scheme that removed the need to test the local employment market first, said the Skilled issue validated her long-held concerns. "These workers who are being replaced are highly skilled and are now facing unemployment," she said.
Inpex, which runs the $US34 billion ($42 billion) Ichthys LNG development, said Castorone staffing was a matter for the contractor and its employees. "Inpex has been working with Saipem to maximise the number of Australian workers employed on this project," a spokeswoman said.
