JANUARY 21, 2019 – The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has welcomed the announcement that, if elected, a Shorten Labor Government would deliver a national procurement policy that will create more local manufacturing jobs around Australia.
The announcement comes off the back of procurement policy announcements by state Governments in Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland.
After a hard fought campaign by union members, Bill Shorten has announced Labor will deliver a National Procurement Policy that will create jobs, strengthen businesses and require one in 10 workers on major projects to be apprentices from the local area.
In Queensland the AMWU secured a commitment from the Palaszczuk Government that it would deliver a ‘buy Queensland” procurement policy to protect local jobs. This also included a commitment that all future contracts for new trains to be built in Queensland. Likewise, the Andrews Government delivered significant rail contracts to Victyiorian workers in its first term.
AMWU National President Andrew Dettmer said: “The AMWU has always campaigned hard for strong local procurement policies. We know that when you invest in secure local jobs, the whole community benefits.”
“The AMWU is proud to have championed this policy. We know that local manufacturing jobs depend on strong local businesses and we want to see Governments put their money where it counts - back into local communities.”
“This policy will have a major impact on job creation in regional communities around Australia.”
“Regional Australia has been badly let down by the Coalition Government which has done little to generate local employment in manufacturing.”
Mr Dettmer said the AMWU has been campaigning for rail industry reform to make better use of existing rail building infrastructure around Australia and the union expects this initiative will see the return of local jobs.
“We are pleased Labor has also made a commitment to revitalise Australia’s TAFE system which was once one of the best vocational education providers in the world but which has been badly run down under the Coalition.”
“This is win for every worker in Australia. This is also a win for the union members who fought for this policy, the apprentices who travelled to Canberra to lobby their Federal MPs and the workers who stood up for their local communities. This is a win for them and we are very proud today, as always, to represent them.”