Gladstone community rally
When: 12pm, Wednesday 17 April 2013
Where: Gladstone Bowls Club, 6A Ferris St, Gladstone
Their demands include greater investment in essential infrastructure for Gladstone and other mining communities, increased training and skills development for local workers, an end to the growing dependence on exploitable overseas workers under the 457 visa scheme, and the use of local content on projects to support Australian manufacturers.
A television advertising blitz, which tells the stories of four real Australians exposing the reality that not everyone in our community is sharing equally from the benefits of the boom, will also air on local TV screens.
The rally is part of the “Let’s Spread It Around” campaign — which is calling for policies to protect and bolster job opportunities for all Queensland workers — and will bring together members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Electrical Trades Union, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and Maritime Union of Australia.
“We must ensure this once-in-a-generation mining boom benefits all Australians,” CFMEU QLD Construction and General Division Secretary Michael Ravbar said.
“For the Gladstone community, this means more needs to be done to support local health, education and road infrastructure, all of which is struggling to handle the rapidly growing pressures being placed on it.
CFMEU QLD Mining and Energy District President Stephen Smyth said inadequate investment in skills training and jobs for local workers were also concerning many in the community.
“A report by the Workforce Development and Productivity Agency last year highlighted that a third of 15 to 19-year-olds are out of work, that many companies don’t want to take time to train them, and that Queensland had ‘worrying clusters’ of unemployment,” Mr Smyth said.
“Locals also want to see greater investment in skills training — rather than the growing trend of importing cheap, exploitable labour from overseas — so local workers and their kids can benefit from the job opportunities in the sector.”
CFMEU Construction Division National Secretary Dave Noonan said that while many of the big miners were increasingly trying to import a cheap, exploitable workforce from overseas under the 457 visa scheme, many local people find it impossible to get jobs in the sector.
“The Federal Government must strengthen the legislation to ensure employers prioritise the training of locals over bringing in compliant workers from overseas, which unfortunately seems to be increasingly the preference of many big companies,” Mr Noonan said.
CFMEU National Secretary Michael O'Connor said Governments at all levels should be using every avenue available to them to ensure that local jobs, industries and communities are supported.
“The jobs of Australian manufacturing workers can also be supported in simple ways such as ensuring major infrastructure projects that receive taxpayer dollars have an obligation to use locally manufactured products whenever practicable,” O'Connor said.
“With the Australian dollar likely to remain at historic highs for some time because of the impacts of the mining boom, and other industries desperately struggling to survive, the ‘Let’s Spread It Around’ campaign is about demanding policies that will put Australian jobs first.”
For more information on the campaign, or to watch the TV ads that are airing this week in Gladstone, go to: www.letsspreaditaround.com.au
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