Thousands of AMWU members marched on Parliament to demand more fabrication work from major resources projects
On the 15th of March, 7000 unionists, business owners, engineers and designers joined to campaign for tougher local content laws on our major resources projects.
The rally marched on parliament house to demand to the Barnett Government that WA’s major resources projects should deliver more skilled jobs and apprenticeships for WA.
While Western Australia’s economy is booming, many of the jobs being created are short term and will be gone when the projects are built. Once operational, most resources projects provide far fewer jobs.
AMWU State Secretary Steve McCartney said the State Government needed to take a long term view.
“The current boom is a once-in-a generation opportunity to provide our kids with the training and apprenticeships they need to develop new skills that will last beyond the boom,” he said.
“However, this is not happening. Our engineers need to go overseas if they want to help design our major resources projects and our local workshops sit empty, with most of the manufacturing and fabrication work for our major projects being sent offshore.
“As a result of this, many of the small businesses who supply our industrial areas and workforces are struggling and unemployment is actually rising in places like the Kwinana strip.
“Our natural resources belong to all of us. We can only use them once and the State Government should get the best deal possible from our big resources companies by ensuring as much skilled work as possible is done in Western Australia as our major resources projects are being designed and built.
“If our local engineers and workshops have the capability and capacity to do the work, then the work should be done here. That is what other countries insist on and is what we should demand.
“It’s our gas, its our rocks, it bloody well should be our jobs”
Both Labor and the Greens gave commitments to support the AMWU’s campaign, with Labor pledging to introduce a bill into parliament to support local jobs.
The rally was also addressed by Skilled Work Alliance members Zaneta Mascarenhas Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists, Managers Australia (APESMA) Meredith Hammatt from Unions WA and James England from the Australian Steel Institute.