Safety concerns from industry over ChAFTA - workers qualifications

Would you allow someone to work on your car who hadn't met Australia qualifications in the trade to do so? Well if the China free trade agreement goes ahead as it is then that may very well be the case.

This isn't a beat up from those dastardly unions, this is from an industry body. The Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce in fact.

Executive director of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce Geoff Gwilym says there is a skills shortage in his industry and his members have no problem with some positions being filled by skilled migration. 

“The fact that these workers are not subject to the same tests as local automotive workers is a safety issue for prospective employees and all motorists,” Mr Gwilym told Australian Automotive. 

“Where is the government’s engagement with industry? The first industry heard of trades being bartered away is in the press. That is unacceptable.” 

Mr Gwilym argued that the FTA undermined Australia’s apprenticeship system, which placed rigour around trades training. 

“This new Free Trade Agreement basically says, ‘If you are a mechanic in China, you are a mechanic in Australia’. How does the motorist know if the person working on their vehicle has the necessary qualifications to perform services and repair tasks to a safe standard?” more