Saturday, October 14, 2017

ACTU welcomes renewed commitment to manufacturing industry

14 October 2017

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has welcomed the announcement today by the ALP that they will commit a billion dollars to an Advanced Manufacturing Finance Corporation (AMFC). We also welcome the commitment for the AMFC to be able to partner with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

Initiatives like this are critical to revitalising a sector that been decimated by successive LNP governments through their anti-job agenda of free trade agreements and offshoring.

Instead of supporting an industry through a sustained period of technological transition, the LNP has forced thousands of manufacturing jobs offshore, with thousands more under threat right now due to the sky rocketing power prices.

The AMFC will be a welcome, long overdue commitment to kick-starting growth of advanced manufacturing and its associated industries in Australia that will deliver badly needed local jobs.

In order to address record inequality and stagnant wages, we urgently need high numbers of skilled, secure jobs.

Sectors like advanced manufacturing are key to our future prosperity and need to supported by government through initiatives like the AMFC.

Quotes attributable to ACTU President Ged Kearney:

  • “To address inequality we need high skilled, secure jobs for Australian workers. Advanced manufacturing delivers this.”
  • "We warmly welcome today's announcement and take great confidence that the alternative Prime Minister of Australia understands this importance of supporting local manufacturing to drive jobs and grow the economy."
  • "Manufacturing used to be a vibrant industry that delivered over a million local jobs, but that number has shrunk to under 900,000 and falling fast, as we witness the death of Australian auto manufacturing right now."
  • "Losing our car industry was an avoidable disaster that will forever be a damning indictment on Malcolm Turnbull and his ever growing legacy of failure."




“Too many jobs have been lost, offshored, outsourced and casualised."

“You don’t have a manufacturing industry unless you back it. This initiative backs local workers to design, build and make things right here in Australia."

"Manufacturing has been a proud part of our history, and it must be a strong part of our future."

No comments: