The Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb told Parliament today that the labour market provisions in the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement negotiated by the Abbott Government were identical to those in previous Free Trade Agreements.

He said:
What we did in this deal, if you wouldn't mind, is identical to what the worker protections were under the Korean deal, the Japanese deal, the Chile deal, all those things are identical.
And -
There is not a cigarette paper in difference between the workers protections in this China deal and all the other deals that have we have done, including those under Labor.
This is wrong on three counts.

1. Under ChAFTA, the Abbott Government has agreed to remove labour market testing safeguards for contractual service suppliers, defined to include workers with trades, technical or professional skills and experience (Annex 10-A, Section A, paragraph10).

By contrast, under the Chile FTA contractual services suppliers are defined as workers with high-level technical or professional skills and experience (Article 13.1).

1. Under ChAFTA, the Abbott Government has agreed to remove labour market testing safeguards for installers and servicers.

By contrast, the Chile FTA does not provide for temporary entry by installers and servicers.

1. Under ChAFTA, the Abbott Government has agreed to create special migration arrangements for $150 million-plus infrastructure projects where labour market testing is not mandatory.

 
By contrast, the Chile FTA does not include project-based migration arrangements nor do Australias FTAs with Japan, Korea, Malaysia, ASEAN, Thailand, Singapore, or the United States.
The attached table summarises labour movement and labour standards provisions in Australias FTAs and shows how ChAFTA differs from earlier agreements.
Mr Robb should stop misleading the public and take up the Oppositions offer to work to build safeguards for Australian jobs.
 
ATTACHMENT - COMPARISON OF FTA PROVISIONS ON LABOUR MOVEMENT AND LABOUR STANDARDS
 

	ChAFTA (China) 2015	KAFTA (Korea) 2014	JAEPA (Japan) 2014	Malaysia 2012	ASEAN-NZ 2010	Chile 2009
Special migration arrangements for projects?	YES ($150m IFAs)	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Removal of labour market testing for contractors in trades, technical and professional occupations?	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO for trades
Period of entry for contractors	4 years	1 year	1 year	1 year	1 year	1 year
Special entry rights for installers and servicers?	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Removal of mandatory skills assessments?	YES	N/A	N/A	N/A	NO (applicable to Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam)	N/A
Labour chapter (commitments to labour rights and standards)?	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO