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GeneralIndustrial RelationsHoward to blame for job losses: ACTUThe possible loss of 600 jobs at Ford's engine plant in Geelong is the latest sign of the Howard Government's disastrous neglect of Australia's car industry says the ACTU.
Unions also expressed concern that Ford's warning of possible job losses at the engine plant could spell the potential loss of as many as 3,000 jobs in Geelong and surrounding areas after the flow-on effects of a downturn in the local car parts and services industries are taken into account.
The prospect of major job cuts at Ford adds to substantial job losses at Holden over the past two years and thousands more jobs in the car components industry, which is heavily focused on Victoria.
Unions believe that the alternative to Ford closing its Geelong plant is to encourage investment in a new world-class engine plant that exports environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient engines to global markets.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said: "The Howard Government has been asleep at the wheel. It has been cruising along, relying on the benefits of the mining boom, while our home-grown manufacturing industry has gone into reverse. The Government's own Department of Employment and Workplace Relations recently predicted Australia's manufacturing sector would shed a further 34,000 jobs over the next five years. This is on top of the 22,400 positions the government admits were lost in the industry over the past five years. With the livelihoods of so many Australians reliant on manufacturing jobs it is disgraceful that the Federal Government has failed to stand up for the industry. The last time the Federal Government reviewed Australia's car industry was in 2002 and the Howard Government has refused to bring forward the next review, despite thousands of jobs lost to the car industry in recent years. Unfortunately the people of Geelong are now bearing the cost of the Howard Government's neglect of the local car industry and its short-sighted approach to manufacturing," said Ms Burrow.
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© 2001 Community & Public Sector Union - State Public Services Federation (CPSU-SPSF) - National Office http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/general/20070718_jobs.html Site proudly designed and engineered by Social Change Online |
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