The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) is lobbying the Labor Party, the Greens and all micro-parties in the Senate to ensure jobs in Australia’s offshore oil and gas industry remain Australian.
“The benefits of large scale resources projects, like Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects, must flow to current and future generations, this can only be done by ensure locals are not pushed out of their own job market, ” the MUA said.
The Australian Senate is about to vote on whether to pass the Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources Activity) Repeal Bill 2014 and enable issuing of Maritime Crew (subclass 988) visas to foreign workers.
The move stems from the Australian Government’s intention to make it easier for vessels operating in the offshore oil and gas industry to use foreign crews, which would be at the expense of Australian maritime workers, according to the MUA.
The MUA has launched a petition to support this cause which can be viewed here.
[mappress] Press Release, July 10th, 2014, Image: AMSA