AMWU: Abbott Ideology Undermines Manufacturing

The AMWU has condemned the Federal Government for its decision to abandon industry assistance to the SPC Admona Plant.

The current Government has now clearly shown that it believes the only way to achieve productivity is to cut wages, conditions and jobs  and that it has no role to play in supporting Australian industry.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott blamed the workers at the Ardmona plant for SPC s woes, and noted they needed to be more flexible  in order for the industry to survive.

The union and workers at the SPC plant have already been working in cooperation with plant management to improve productivity,  said AMWU National Secretary Paul Bastian.

For the Prime Minister to suggest that the potential closure of the Ardmona plant is due to the workers is to ignore the mess in the Government s own backyard.

The real factors that have impacted SPC are matters beyond the company s control, including:

• SPC have been the victim of dumping but the Government refuses to impose anti-dumping duties on the cheap dumped canned fruit coming into Australia.
• The tomatoes producers in Italy, which are undercutting SPC, are being investigated for links to organised crime, but the Government won t provide a life line to SPC while these investigations continue.
• While SPC adheres to strict quality standards to ensure every single product is top quality and safe, imports which don t meet these standards are coming into the market and undercutting SPC s business.
• Just last week 2 out of 10 randomly tested cans of fruit from China were found to contain dangerous levels of lead.
• The high Australian dollar has put huge pressure on Australian manufacturing, including SPC and still does.

Mr Bastian said that the decision flies in the face of the Government s own advice from the Productivity Commission, its own panel of experts, the interests of the local community and the strong opposition of the local coalition MP.

This decision is not in the interests of anyone," Mr Bastian said.

"It is based on a naive and cruel desire from this government to maintain their ideological purity when it comes to manufacturing support at the expense of thousands of jobs and whole industries. We have seen it with Holden and now we have seen it with SPC Ardmona,

The government directly and indirectly subsidies mining, agriculture, finance, fisheries and other important Australian industries and yet it is continually cutting investment in manufacturing.

Today is a sad day for all Australians. Soon, when we go to the supermarket and look down the canned-goods aisle, there will be nothing left made in Australia,  said Mr Bastian.