The AMWU has welcomed the opportunity to voice the concerns of manufacturing workers, as part of the non-government organisation roundtable on climate change.

Upon being appointed to the roundtable, Dave Oliver, AMWU National Secretary, said that manufacturing workers had a lot to gain or a lot to lose depending on the forms of action the government takes on climate change.

“The AMWU has argued for many years that opportunities in clean technology in industries like energy generation and the auto-motive industry are Australia’s chance to revitalise our manufacturing sector and develop significant export bases.

“Building Australia’s manufacturing capacity around lower-carbon technology can replace jobs in carbon-intensive industries, but only if government is prepared to take a leadership role.

“Industry policy, the right incentives for investment, research and development, skills training programs, and government-led cooperation between workers and companies are all key ingredients for moving forward on this great challenge for our generation.

“These are only ingredients however, and the action that the business and NGO roundtables discuss will be the vital factor in delivering outcomes that help workers, the environment and business adjust to a lower-carbon future.

“We must begin to see real outcomes and begin programs that generate jobs in new lower-carbon industries. The risk for Australia is if we act too late and let other countries get a head start in these multi-billion dollar industries before we do.

“AMWU members have been working at a practical level with many employers across the country and our union looks forward to participating in this significant process for national action.”