Union leaders have lashed out at a federal government skilled migration plan that will allow mining magnate Gina Rinehart to bring in 1,700 foreign workers, saying it is a kick in the guts for Australian employees.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced on Friday the government program to allow enterprise migration agreements (EMA) would help mining companies find enough workers for their developments.
But union leaders, who were attending a government manufacturing taskforce meeting in Canberra, were furious.
Australian Council of Trade Unions leader Dave Oliver said it was "reprehensible" and Australian workers were being overlooked.
"We are calling on the prime minister to immediately intervene to ensure before any workers are being brought in under the 457 visa program that there has been appropriate measures in place to ensure that the local market has been tested," he told reporters.
Australian Workers' Union head Paul Howes said it beggared belief that the announcement was made in the wake of recent jobs losses at Qantas and the Norsk Hydro aluminium smelter in NSW.
"On Friday we come to Canberra to meet with the prime minister, the industry minister and the CEOs of the major manufacturing industries to address the 130,000 jobs that have been lost out of manufacturing since 2008," a clearly angry Mr Howes told reporters.
"And Chris Bowen is announcing that Gina Rinehart gets an early Christmas present.
"I thought we were actually attacking these guys at the moment. Whose side are we on?"
The first EMAs have been granted to Ms Rinehart's Roy Hill project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
Mr Howes said it was a big win for Ms Rinehart, and the benefits would also be enjoyed by her fellow mining billionaires Clive Palmer and Andrew Forrest.
"It's a massive kick in the guts to those 130,000 workers in the manufacturing industry who have lost their jobs," he said.
It's "sheer lunacy", he added.
The union movement will now pressure Prime Minister Julia Gillard to set up a job register, as promised by Mr Bowen on Friday, and make it mandatory to advertise locally for workers before importing foreign labour.
