AMWU: Time to get fair dinkum

30/01/12

The actions of Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) secretary, Dave Oliver, today in launching a petition misrepresenting the Coalition’s position on car industry funding smell more like a stunt than genuine concern for car industry workers.

When Australian manufacturing is in the midst of its greatest crisis since the Great Depression, it is regrettable that Mr Oliver seems to prefer deceitful ‘push polling’ to constructive representation of his members.

The AMWU did not seek at any time to participate in the Coalition’s industry policy review process in the latter part of last year. That process was open to any interested stakeholder anywhere in the country, attracted the involvement of literally hundreds of Australians, and canvassed a wide variety of assessments and suggestions of current and future industry policy settings.

Mr Oliver’s involvement might also have assisted us to understand why he is so strident about the Coalition’s proposed $500 million cut to car industry funding when he has been rather muted in commenting on the Government’s broken promises and cuts of at least $1.4 billion to the car industry. It could also have elicited a better understanding of why even the Australian Council of Trade Unions is at odds with the AMWU on the subject of car industry funding.

Unfortunately, the AMWU never sought to be involved and has instead conveniently waited until after that process was completed to not only make false assertions but then demand specific responses to them!

If he had sought to meet with us in person, then Mr Oliver would better understand the Coalition’s approach and not misrepresent it to his members in such a regrettable way.

Such a conversation would also have allowed him to help explain why he has not opposed the job destroying carbon tax and continues his unquestioning support of the Gillard Government – which has presided over:

· the worst rate of job losses in the history of Australian manufacturing; and

· contractions in manufacturing activity in each of 29 separate months.

I took the initiative last week to invite Mr Oliver to meet with me and I had looked forward to a positive response and constructive dialogue – but, as yet, have not heard back from him.