AMWU members at Ford rammed home the need for the Government to do more for manufacturing when they quizzed Geelong’s civic leaders on the ABC’s Q&A program this week.
Anthony Anderson and Henry Fuller highlighted the lack of manufacturing incentives provided by the Abbott Government, which is having a huge impact on the Geelong community.
Both wanted to know where quality jobs would come from, with Mr Anderson asking Liberal MP Sarah Henderson what this Government had done to give 1100 workers from Ford and Alcoa a realistic chance of work.
While welcoming 150 new advanced manufacturing jobs created at the Carbon Revolution wheel facility, he said these alone were not the answer, as they could only absorb a fraction of those people due to be made redundant.
“It completely comes across that your Government has actually walked away from working people and their families,” Mr Anderson told Liberal MP Sarah Henderson.
“What is the future for myself and for my family, when they grow up? Because there’s no jobs.”
Ms Henderson said there was majority federal funding in the $29.5 million Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund, but Mr Anderson drew applause by reminding her this was a Labor Government initiative.Geelong mayor Darren Lyons told Q&A that over 4000 new jobs were being created in Geelong.
Mr Anderson later pointed out that casual, part-time jobs in retail and services could not replace secure, full-time manufacturing jobs.
Mr Fuller said that after 27 years of work at Ford, to face competing with big numbers of 20-year-olds for scarce positions was “truly scary.”
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