THEY clean toilets, drive taxis and wait tables - jobs that are so far "beneath" many Australians the federal government is considering importing thousands of migrant workers to fill critically short-staffed local industries.
A growing underclass is developing in Australia - a country once respected for its work ethic - where entire service professions are being left to foreigners, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Experts say high-paying mining jobs are luring young Australian workers from traditional fields such as retail and hospitality, while others would rather go on the dole than muck in and do certain jobs themselves.
"I hate to say it but there seems to be a sense of entitlement among younger Australians," Tourism Accommodation Australia boss Rodger Powell said.
"They believe jobs in the service industry are too menial or too low paid and they have been brought up to believe they are destined for something better instead of starting from the bottom and working their way up as generations did before them."
The hospitality and tourism industry is so short staffed the government is in discussions to import 36,000 cooks, waiters and bartenders to fill vacancies with another 56,000 needed by 2015, according to federal Immigration Minister Chris Bowen. Under the plan, tourism and hospitality employers would be able to bring in workers on a two to three year visa similar to the 457 visa program widely used in the mining sector.
"Employers would need to show they are doing their best to employ and train domestic workers and paying market rates," Mr Bowen said.
While hospitality is struggling to fill vacancies, some sectors are being shunned altogether.
"It's rare to have an Australian work as a commercial cleaner," Australian Cleaning Contractor's Alliance director John Laws said.
"It is is not an attractive position - cleaning has traditionally been done by people who have English as a second language."
A spokeswoman for the cleaning union United Voice said cleaners were among the worst-treated workers in the country, with one of the highest turnovers of staff at 40 per cent.
She said competition for contracts was so fierce some companies were bidding at a loss and using illegal practices such as cash-in-hand payments.
A black market of illegal workers is said to extend across other businesses including restaurants and general labouring.
In the carwashing sector, the majority of workers are from overseas.
Indian accounting student Sanjay Kumar, who works part time at the Baywash Carwash in Summer Hill, said the high cost of living in Australia meant he had to work hard to make ends meet.
"It's expensive here and I need the money so I wash cars to help but I love doing my job. Everyone is nice," he said.
YOUNG and Districts Chamber of Commerce secretary Thomas O'Brien said most fruit pickers were overseas backpackers and, while some locals did it, others were too lazy and had a "welfare state" mentality.
Orchard owner Alan Copeland said growers relied on travellers such as Chung-Jen Wang, 29, of Taiwan, and Yoshimi Ohta, 26, of Japan, "to get the fruit off" or risk financial ruin.
"People say they're taking Australian jobs," he said.
"They're not taking Australian jobs, they're doing jobs Australians won't do."
University of Shizuoka graduate Ms Ohta said she enjoyed fruit picking "more than I was expecting".
"It's an experience and the money is OK," she said.
NSW Taxi Council boss Peter Ramshaw said, while the industry was always looking for drivers, its problem was more of a lack of taxi licences.
And, with Australia's generous welfare system, those who can't land a high-paying job are in some cases better off on the dole.
Analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals the average cab driver takes home $527 a week after tax -- just 40c more than the $526.60 a single parent gets looking for a job.
If the same parent gives up looking and goes on parenting payments they jump to $641.50 a week -- just $7.50 less than a cleaner gets scrubbing floors 38 hours a week but still more than car detailers ($569.80) and dishwashers ($631.54).
Tertiary students, the backbone of retail and hospitality, who are eligible for rent allowance can get up to $522.10 a week, almost as much as waiting tables ($569.80) full-time.
Transport and Tourism Forum chief executive John Lee said it was a global phenomenon, with migrants and working travellers the only people "willing to get their hands dirty".
"Getting Australians to do these jobs - cleaning toilets, portering, any hard work - is impossible," he said.
Comments on this story
Broke as Posted at 7:13 PM January 28, 2012
It's because people can't afford to take these jobs, they don't pay enough!!!!!! You can't live on one of those wages.
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