Australian union critical of invite to Irish ‘Copper Gurus’

An Australian Trade Union has criticised plans to bring in copper workers from Ireland to help develop the country’s broadband network.

Recruiters for Australia’s National Broadband Network have placed an advertisement seeking Irish nationals to come and work in Australia on the multibillion-dollar telecommunications project.

In the advertisement, recruitment company OneIRC states it is looking for “‘Copper Gurus’ to work on the country’s largest telecommunications project”, with positions available “all over Australia”.

Job seekers are being offered migration assistance to get to Australia and $75,000 Australian dollars per year for three years.

“Expand your career opportunities” and “Bring the family and stay in one spot or travel across the country,” the advertisement says.

National secretary of the Communication Workers' Union Greg Rayner told the Sydney Morning Herald : "This is Australia's biggest job creating infrastructure project and with youth unemployment over 10 per cent we need these job here and now."

The union’s branch secretary in New South Wales, Jim Metcher told the newspaper that jobs will be “dished out to workers in Kilkenny, not Sydney...in Dublin not Condobolin; Belfast, not Belgrave. It’s a disgrace.”

The comes against a backdrop of rising unemployment in Australia.

The unemployment rate in Australia was steady at 5.7 per cent in May but no full-time jobs have been added in three months.