140 AMWU delegates in Queensland have marched across the Kurilpa Bridge in Brisbane to as part of the Manufacturing Matters campaign.

The slogan for the campaign is ‘Make it here or jobs disappear.’

The Brisbane action capped off a week of events in Rockhampton, Gladstone, Maryborough, Townsville and Mackay.

The delegates carried hundreds of work boots collected from members across Queensland to symbolise the jobs that would be lost if manufacturing contacts in Queensland are allowed to go off shore.

The Kurilpa Bridge was constructed by local contractors using local content.

Queensland State Secretary Andrew Dettmer said the state government needs to  intervene and ensure that contacts are awarded to local tenders. 

“We want the state government to extend the local industry policy to private sector projects that require government approval. So that every coal mine, every rail line, every piece of private sector infrastructure has a plan to maximise local jobs and local content,” he said.

“The State Government must take decisive action to ensure Queensland industries are considered first for tenders. We don’t want to see manufacturing jobs walking out of this country.”