A decision to award a defence maintenance contract to Singapore will cost the Federal Government more than it saves, and could result in the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Hundreds of AMWU members at the Garden Island defence maintenance facility in Sydney and workshops and dockyards in Newcastle rallied on Wednesday, calling on the Minister for Defence Materiel, Jason Clare, to take into account a broader range of factors than simply cost when he makes his decision on a contract for maintenance work on the HMAS Success.
AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver, told the rallies that it was important that the work be done in Australia.
“If the Minister decides that Australians will be given this work, it will sustain up to 400 jobs at Garden Island in Sydney, and at Forgacs in Newcastle, where the steel panels for the hull would be fabricated. It would mean ongoing work for a skilled workforce, including the training of apprentices,” he said.
The contract is only the first of many larger defence contracts coming up, and it is vital that the government get its priorities correct from the first decision.
“The Government must do all it can to keep contracts like this here in Australia. It must recognise that contracts like this need to be considered on more than a simplistic price comparison. The lowest price often means the lowest standards. In this case it also means sacrificing jobs, training opportunities and defence capability.
“The benefits of employment, skills development, apprenticeships, R&D and defence capability far outweigh any cost saving available by awarding the work to a low-wage country like Singapore.
“Between August 2009 and August 2010 NSW lost 15,300 full time manufacturing jobs and the sector does not need to take another hit.
“On top of the jobs, it is of obvious importance to our national interest that we maintain defence capability in Australian and not export our defence industry to foreign countries.”
Union delegate at Garden Island, Brian Hague, said that the industry needed regular work to keep up skills and capability.
“We’re struggling at the moment just to keep the work that we can get and if they send it overseas then Thales at Garden Island will basically shut up shop to a large extent.”
“I’ve worked at Sembawang dockyard in Singapore and I know their safety record is pathetic.”
Leigh Shears, AMWU delegate at the Forgacs dockyard in Newcastle said keeping the work in Australia was an obvious decision for the government to make.
“This is an opportunity for the government to, instead of talking about being committed to Australian workers, to actually put it into action.”