The #labour #shortage is a furphy

In the Sydney Morning Herald, Malcolm Tulloch, the state secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, said the labour shortage was a ”furphy”. ”It’s just a ruse to bring in foreign workers on cheaper rates and drive the wages and conditions down,” he said.

“As the resources sector continued to expand, the construction industry in particular would suffer increased difficulties in filling jobs because of the higher wages offered by mining companies, the CEO of the Australian Federation of Employers and Industries, Garry Brack said.

One short term solution could be temporary skilled migration. The question is if this will be enough to lower wage pressure and avoid the looming labour shortage in similar industries.

Here are the top 10 salaries in Australia. 3 of the top 10 spots  are dominated by Mining, Oil & Gas.

1. Mining Oil & Gas Managers – $148,000
2. Oil & Gas Engineers – $141,000
3. Medical Specialist – $134,000
4. Legal Solicitor Senior Associates – $126,000
5. IT Architects – $122,000
6. Oil & Gas – Productions – $122,000
7. Consulting & Corporate Strategists -$114,000
8. Engineering Managers – $110,000
9. Accountant Financial Controller – $106,000
10. IT Project Managers – $102,000
(Average wage)

But in reality it is much more than that. If you have a look at the following advertisement, a senior planner can easily earn $300,000 – $400,000 a year. This makes him earn as much as Barack Obama earns according to Forbes.

Hays provided us with a white paper on salary pressures. Download here to read more.

Michael Ziegler, Head of Remuneration & Benefits at AGL Energy will explain how to control escalating wage pressures at Resource Humans Australia 2011.