Union denies plans to import US workers

18 Jul 2012, 3:03 pm   -   Source: AAP

The electricians and plumbers union denies a senior official attended a US jobs fair with the intention of importing 2000 foreign workers.

A senior member of one of Australia's biggest unions attended a US jobs fair designed to attract American workers to Australia, a move the union's Victorian branch has described as a "disgraceful betrayal".

Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) assistant national secretary Allen Hicks told AAP the union's national secretary Peter Tighe attended the Australian government-hosted jobs expo in Houston, Texas, on May 19-20.

The Skills Australia Needs expo was held to lure skilled US workers to fill gaps in the Australian oil, mining, resources and construction sectors.

But Mr Hicks denied a New Ltd report there were plans to import 2000 skilled workers from the US on temporary visas.

"We definitely have not got any agreement to bring in 2000 workers," he told AAP on Wednesday.

He said the union anticipated a shortfall in local skills in the next decade and wanted to ensure any workers brought to Australian were union members and had the necessary skills.

"We went over there with the purpose of being involved ... we wanted to be proactive," Mr Hicks said.

The Victorian branch of the union slammed the suggestion that the union was involved in overseas recruitment.

"The Victorian Branch was not consulted on this disgraceful betrayal of existing and future Australian electrical workers and apprentices, rejects it totally and wants no part of it at all," Electriccal Trades Union Victorian secretary Dean Mighell said.

Mr Hicks said the union had been approached earlier this year by Bechtel Corporation, which is involved in the construction of resource processing facilities in Queensland.

"They made an approach to us to see what our levels of interest were in finding people overseas," he said.

Mr Hicks said he told the company it should expand training opportunities for Australians first.

A spokeswoman for Bechtel's Australian arm said she was unaware of such a meeting.

"Our current electrical worker demand is being met through local supply and that will always be our priority," she said in a statement.

Future Skills International, a spin-off from the Queensland branch of the CEPU, was also involved in the expo, Mr Hicks said.

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