The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 723 - 544: Foreign Workers and R107 Battleship_2

As his primary purpose was sightseeing, and inspection was just incidental, Arthur did not visit the Melbourne City Government, but rather asked a few questions to the Governor of Victoria State and the Melbourne City Mayor during a private dinner meeting.

The current Governor of Victoria State is Georg Philip Lügendas, a native Australasian. Find your next read at empire

Arthur evidently had more trust in the native Australasians than the immigrants, which had enabled more people like Governor Georg to rise to high positions.

"Governor Georg, are there any issues with the current development in Victoria State?" He asked with a smile, turning to the two quite reserved men after dinner.

"Your Majesty, there are no significant problems with the development of Victoria State at the moment. However, if one must point out an issue, the recent influx of foreign workers has led to some citizens’ dissatisfaction, as they believe these workers are taking over the jobs of Australasians," replied Governor Georg immediately and candidly upon hearing Arthur’s question.

"Foreign workers? Approximately how many?" Arthur furrowed his brows, asking further.

Unlike those who desired to immigrate but had not yet acquired citizenship, most foreign workers did not wish to immigrate. They merely wanted to seek high-paying job opportunities in Australasia and return to their home countries after earning a substantial income.

Compared with native Australasians and immigrants, these foreign workers are obviously outsiders, and this issue needed to be tackled.

"The number of foreign workers has been increasing in recent years. Although the situation in Victoria State is not bad at the moment, we have nearly fifty thousand such workers," Governor Georg continued.

"There have been no issues caused by these people domestically, right?" The security of foreign workers was always an issue. These people have little recognition for the country, making them more likely to participate in activities harmful to national security.

"Not at the moment, Your Majesty," answered Governor Georg.

"In that case, let’s hold off on handling these foreign workers for now. For any highly educated foreign workers engaged in important positions, try to persuade them to join us and acquire Australasian citizenship. For instance, we can offer certain privileges to talented individuals in education and the medical industry, like providing free shipping for their families to Australasia, etc.

As long as they do not support any actions that harm Australasian national security, we will not reject these foreign workers," Arthur said with a smile.

Overall, these foreign workers seldom impact the jobs of Australasian citizens.

Because Australasian labor laws have already stipulated that only Australasian citizens can enjoy the highest minimum wage protection policy.

Not having Australasian citizenship means that the minimum wage, compared to native Australasians, is at a lower level.

Add to this, the government has a regulation for all enterprises in Australasia, stating that Australasian citizens must make up more than 70% of the total number of employees. This stipulation ensures that businesses can’t employ a large number of non-Australasian employees.

Under such circumstances, foreign workers could hardly impact the work environment of Australasians.