work permit policy change of course to the detriment of the worker

national | worker & community struggles and protests | news report

Tuesday June 13, 2006 21:58

by Tobie*

There was been a change in work visa policy effect a weekago today - of course no one on these visa's were informed of this immidiate change in policy

"Policy on Exchange Visitor, Student or Working Holiday Visa Programmes

The purpose of these Exchange Programmes is to allow persons into the state for Working Holiday, Visit or Educational purposes for a specified period at the end of which they must return home.

The policy whereby persons on a Working Holiday Visa could transfer over to a work permit has now been discontinued with effect from Tuesday 6th June 2006."

Figuring out visa's, immigration and work permits is not a simple process. Reading through government websites just frustrates the hell out of anyone. By the time you figure it out you could work as an information officer and bore anyone with the ins and outs of the racist irish immigration system. Here we are once again with a policy change that the public were not given any notice of. One more hurdle to make it next to impossible to stay in Ireland legally.

Up until last week there was this way to get a work permit that skipped all the requirements set up to keep non-eu working class people out of the country. Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and for short periods of time South Africa all have a visa called a holiday work visa. If you were working for an employer and were on this type of visa they could sponcer you with out meeting all the requirements.

This was the one chance to get sponcered outside of the "highly skilled, highly paid" areana. It was clearly a western privilege to start out with but this has been taken away. As of Tuesday June 6th this policy has changed. The only notice was put up on the Department of Entrprise, Trade and Employment website a few days before. This policy being implimented immidiately and effect everyone who is already on these visas.

Now that those on Working Holiday visa's can no longer transfer over to a work permit they must go throught a work permit procedure that ensures that next to no one can get in. Besides having to the job advertised on FAS for 4 weeks the government reminds employers of the size of europe and encourages them to look at european applicant first to fill positions.

"The recent expansion of the European Union has resulted in a very significant reduction in the number of new work permits being issued by this Department. Essentially, the Department will only consider new work permit applications from employers, where the employer is seeking to employ highly qualified or highly specific personnel and where there is also a demonstrable and verified shortage of such staff in the labour market.

While the FAS advertising procedure is the principal means by which we determine and verify labour shortages in the specific job categories applied for through the work permits system, the Department has determined that for the foreseeable future there will be no requirement to issue new work permits for anything but the most highly specialised vacancies. Generally, all other applications will be refused or returned."

They then give you an extensive list of jobs that they refuse outright to give work permits for. But what they really mean is that you can only get sponcered if you are in a "highly skilled, highly paid" position and what that traslates to is doctors, nurses and highly trained IT people. These exact words have come out of several voices in the work permits helpline. So basically anything outside of those regardless of your experience is considered invalid and you best be packing your bags 'cause your going home.