The section in question requires employers to prove they have searched for Australian workers to fill a position before they seek a temporary worker from overseas.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the CMFEU, believes the government is planning to remove the requirement.
A change to the skilled migration program requiring employers to place a greater emphasis on attracting local workers to positions was passed in Parliament by just one vote in June.
The reform was made amid a bitter political debate with the Coalition, in opposition at the time, accusing the then Labor government of demonising workers who had entered the country on 457 visas.
For its part, Labor claimed some sectors of the economy had seen a one hundred per cent increase in 457 use and some employers were abusing the system.
This view is shared by the CFMEU National Assistant Secretary, Dave Noonan, who says the Coalition government is planning to repeal the requirement.
"The requirement that was put into the law under the last Labor government was that before an employer can bring a worker to Australia on a 457 visa, which is supposed to be to fill skills shortages, they simply show that they actually tried to get a local worker first. Now that's been opposed by big business, by the Mines and Metals Association, the Master Builders and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We think that (Immigration Minister Scott) Morrison is under significant pressure from big business to put the profits of large companies ahead of the rights of Australian workers and we would urge him to stand up for Australian workers and resist that pressure," said Noonan.
Bob Birrell is the head of the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Monash University.
He says he agrees with the stated policy of Prime Minister Tony Abbott while he was in opposition, that 457 visas should become the mainstay of Australia's immigration program.
But he says the system must be reformed to ensure there actually is a shortage of skills in the areas where employers are hiring in.
“Recently arrived migrants are effectively getting all the new jobs being created and this is squeezing out residents, particularly younger people who are trying to get into entry-level jobs where competition is especially fierce from temporary visa-holders: working-holidaymakers, students, visitors and so on. I think we need to radically rethink our migration program in the context of the realities of our labour market in the post-mineral investment boom era," Birrell said.
During the election campaign, then immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the Coalition opposed making businesses prove they had tried to find Australian workers to fill their vacancies before looking for international workers.
He said 457 workers bring great benefits to Australia.
“People who come on 457s make a contribution from day one. They pay taxes, they have jobs, they pay for the government services they consume in our schools and in our hospitals. Many, many of them go on to become permanent migrants, making an extraordinary contribution to this country," said Morrison.
Now Immigration Minister, Mr Morrison is yet to spell out exactly what changes the Coalition government might make to the 457 scheme but changes were clearly flagged by the Coalition earlier in the year, saying they planned to "cut union red tape."
The CFMEU's Dave Noonan says that is code for disadvantaging Australian workers, but any such changes could cost international workers as well.
He says the Labor government's June changes did more than merely force employers to advertise jobs locally before looking overseas.
Mr Noonan says they included more resources being put into ensuring 457 visa workers receive the same entitlements as Australian workers, and the Fair Work Ombudsman having powers to oversee those conditions.
"Workers on 457 visas used to have to find another job within 28 days if their employer sacked them. The reforms that were made mean that those workers have got a longer period of time, 90 days, to find another job if they are put off. This takes a lot of pressure off workers that are on the 457 visa scheme. They are less likely to be exploited by employers who threaten to send them home if they complain about wages or safety. We think that that extended period should remain," said Noonan.
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