ACTU lends support to AWU locally-made campaign
04 February 2009
The ACTU Secretary, Jeff Lawrence, came out in strong support of the AWU call for special protection during the global crisis to support local steel and aluminium companies battling cheaper imports.
Mr Lawrence endorsed the AWU proposal for the Federal Government to introduce local content rules - similar to US President Obama's plans - that could ensure infrastructure projects used locally produced products.
" Local content in these new infrastructure projects must be maximized - as Paul Howes has said," Jeff Lawrence said in his speech.
Entitlements should be fully guaranteed
ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said unions welcomed Labor's stimulus package but would press the Government to rethink redundancy laws to help workers laid off during this economic crisis.
" The entitlements of workers who lost their jobs because of company collapses caused by the global financial crisis should be fully guaranteed," Mr Lawrence said in a speech to the AWU national conference.
AWU appreciated ACTU leadership over the last year
Introducing the ACTU Secretary to the 300 delegates and observers at the AWU National Conference ,Paul Howes said that Jeff Lawrence had done a marvelous job since taking over the leadership of the national trade union centre.
The AWU leader acknowledged the hard and succesful work of the ACTU Secretary in the negotiations with the Federal Government for the end of the WorkChoice era.
Paul Howes said Jeff Lawrence had built a much warmer relationship between the ACTU and the AWU than had existed for decades.
" Jeff Lawrence has ensured that the AWU has been brought into the centre of decision-making something which is almost unprecedented," Paul Howes said.
Cannot vacate any space to the business lobby
A key concern for unions remains that the Government may lose heart in promoting its pro-union industrial relations laws to replace the hated WorkChoice regime, the ACTU Secretary said.
" We cannot vacate any space to the business lobby where some will use this crisis to push their own self-interested agenda," Jeff Lawrence said.
" For too long workers have been forced to the wayside as unions were marginalized and denied a voice in public policy.
" Our warnings that an economy could not be truly said to be prosperous if workers were left behind went unheeded."
All electoral matter is authorised by Paul Howes, National Secretary