Two of Australia’s largest unions have joined forces ahead of next week’s ALP national conference to lobby the federal government to better support the local manufacturing industry.
With the ALP National Conference just days away, two of Australia’s biggest unions have united to lobby the federal government to better support the local manufacturing industry.
The left-faction Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and the right-faction Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) will put aside their differences to officially launch the alliance in Canberra on Friday.
AWU national secretary Paul Howes says the focus will be on encouraging the government to buy Australian in an effort to address the loss of 77,000 jobs in the industry in the past 12 months.
“Australian manufacturers ought to be the first port of call when it comes to tendering for major infrastructure projects, as the benefits to the economy and the boost to employment far outweighs the cost and impact of sourcing materials made overseas,” Howes said in a statement.