Colac recognises role of Manufacturing in Australia
Thursday November 01, 2007
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NUW State Secretary Antony Thow and ALP Candidate for Corangamite Darren Cheeseman were joined by many hungry locals at the YRAW BBQ in Colac
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The National Union of Workers held a successful community BBQ in Colac yesterday (October 31, 2007) to celebrate “Workers Who Make Things Day”.
The day was organised by the Your Rights at Work Campaign to celebrate the role manufacturing plays in the Australian economy and community in general.
The NUW has many members in the dairy industry – food manufacturing – in the Colac region, so we thought it a perfect place to hold a BBQ to thank our members who work so hard in the industry.
NUW State Secretary Antony Thow was on hand to talk to hungry members, as was local ALP candidate for Corangamite Darren Cheeseman who took the opportunity to talk to passers by about Labor policies, particularly in the area of Industrial Relations.
Cheeseman also had the opportunity to discuss with locals the issues particularly worrying them and their community, such as roads and better hospital services.
A couple of hundred people came over to the Colac Memorial Square to enjoy a sausage or two and many told of their concerns about the Howard Government’s WorkChoices laws.
The BBQ came as the ACTU released figures showing the massive decline in manufacturing jobs in this country since the Howard Government came to power in 1996.
See the ACTU Media Release below.
33,000 more job losses — the Coalition’s only plan for Australian manufacturing say unions
Workers in manufacturing, agriculture and construction will be campaigning around Australia today (Wednesday October 31, 2007) to highlight the negative impact of WorkChoices and the Howard Government’s approach to Australia’s manufacturing industry on families and local communities.
Unions also today flatly rejected John Howard and Peter Costello’s statements that WorkChoices has struck the ‘right balance’ on IR with more than a million Australians worse off in real terms under the IR laws.
An official Federal Government briefing paper predicts that an extra 33,000 jobs will be shed from manufacturing over the next five years (source: Australian Jobs 2007, DEWR).
This is on top of the 108,000 jobs the sector has already lost under the Howard Government since 1996 (below).
Despite the prediction of massive further job losses, the Howard Government is continuing to ignore the future needs of the manufacturing sector say unions.
ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said:
“John Howard and Peter Costello have a terrible record of failing to support Australian manufacturing.
“More than a hundred thousands jobs have gone from the industry under their watch and 33,000 more are set to go in the next few years if the Liberals and Nationals are re-elected.
“Instead of providing secure, well-paid jobs for Australians in a globally competitive manufacturing industry, the Howard Government has focused on slashing workers’ wages and conditions through WorkChoices.
“If the Coalition is re-elected there is a real danger that Australia’s manufacturing industries including the all-important car and auto component sectors will lose critical mass and shrink to an unsustainable level.
“Labor leader Kevin Rudd’s unequivocal commitment to saving and extending our national manufacturing capacity, including a green car innovation strategy, is very welcome,” Lawrence said.
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Last modified 2007-11-01 11:24 AM
