On the same day that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited Adelaide, 45 South Australian shipbuilders at ASC were given the news that they would be losing their jobs.
The news comes as the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project winds down, causing an industry downturn in work known as the “valley of death”.
The Assistant National Secretary, Glenn Thompson, of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) said that workers had been let down by the inaction of the Federal Government.
“On the same day that the Prime Minister visited Adelaide, 45 shipbuilding workers and their families have had this terrible news. If this is a sign of what’s to come every time the PM visits the state, he’s better off not coming,” Mr Thompson said.
“No one in the Federal Government will be surprised by these job losses. They’ve know about the valley of death since 2009,” he said.
The AMWU has been calling on the Government to bring forward critical defence projects to fill the void created by the AWD project completion.
“The industry needs certainty and it needs to maintain its skills base of employees. Without that, we risk the long-term viability of the shipbuilding industry in this country,” Mr Thompson said.
Glenn Thompson is available for interview and radio news grabs.
Media Contact: John Hill 0412197079