Australia-79 Meat workers arrested.

AUSTRALIA-79 MEAT WORKERS ARRESTED.

Some 79 illegal workers have been identified as part of a Immigration Department raid on meatworks around the country yesterday.

And that number is expected to grow as more people are interviewed and confirmed as working in Australia illegally.

The Department raided abattoirs in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, and all those detained were Chinese.

The federal vice-president of the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union, Patricia Fernandez, said a shortage of labourers had forced companies to look overseas for workers.

"The shortage of labour has been created by past governments not putting enough money into training for workers," she said.

"We find companies bringing in people through agencies and making them work at the expense of Australian workers."

Backpackers were the latest workers exploited for cheap labour, she said.