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Issue No. 293 | 20 December 2005 |
Waves of Destruction
Interview: Back to the Future Unions: A Real Page Turner Industrial: The Pin-Striped Union International: Around The World In 365 Days Legends: Terrific, Tommy Your Rights At Work: Worth Fighting For Politics: The Year That Was Economics: Master and Servant Revisited Culture: 2005: The Year of Living Repetitively Bad Boss: The Bottom Ten Religion: Hymns from a Different Song Sheet
Harper's Bizarre Excuse for Failure Workers Walk As Warnings Wiped Professionals Fear for Their Kids
Predictions The Soapbox Parliament The Locker Room Postcard
Free to Rat Tax Cuts and Cockroaches Proportion, Not Distortion Corp That!
Labor Council of NSW |
News Plan to Save Jobs
The three groups will work towards a manufacturing plan in response to the loss of 1178 jobs a week since the Howard Government came to office.
AMWU National President Julius Roe said manufacturing groups were forced to take the initiative because the Howard Government had ignored the decline of Australian industry. "For the first time in more than 10 years we have a national tripartite partnership of employers, government and unions to deal with promotion of the manufacturing industry and to produce a plan to defend jobs," Roe said. The plan, made at the National Manufacturing Summit in December, will seek to capitalise on Australia's strengths in the industry, as well as encourage the development of Australia's skills base. The Strategic Action Plan is due to be completed by September 2006. Other summit also agreed to: o the commitment of the three groups to continue discussion in an ongoing national forum; o a commitment that state manufacturing ministers will meet at least once a year to oversee the implementation of strategies and to identify areas that need to be addressed; and o the encouragement of the involvement of the Commonwealth Government in developing the plan. The summit was optimistic about Australia's ability to compete globally, noting the nation's capacity to manufacture specialist, short-run or niche products. Although the summit brought together key players from around the country, the Commonwealth Government was a notable absence. Roe said that while the non-attendance of the Federal Government had let down workers and the Australian economy, it would eventually be forced to respond. "We want the Federal Government to join the national manufacturing forum; we want them to join in the development of an action plan, and to adopt the outcomes of deliberations." Roe said the AMWU would continue to work on three levels to ensure jobs in manufacturing were protected. These were negotiating with employers, campaigning to improve policy and to work co-operatively with other interested groups, of which the summit was an example.
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