Qld: Manufacturing workers rally and march in Brisbane

AAP General News (Australia)
04-06-2000
Qld: Manufacturing workers rally and march in Brisbane

BRISBANE, April 6 AAP - More than 100 Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU)
members walked off the job for three hours today to protest over the use of imported equipment
on major Queensland sites.

The workers, from the Alstom Australia plant at Rocklea, in Brisbane's south-west,
were angry that they had been overlooked for the supply of generator transformers to the
$1 billion expansion of the state government owned Tarong power station.

Alstom management advised the AMWU that it was not asked to submit a bid to Japanese
industrial giant, Toshiba who was awarded the contract for the Tarong expansion.

The blow comes despite the Beattie government now having a Local Content Policy, which
encourages big firms to use locally-based workers for major projects in Queensland.

Union members will today rally outside the Toshiba office at South Brisbane, the Tarong
Energy office in the city and the Queensland Mines and Energy building before staging
a final demonstration outside the Executive building in George street.

Today's action followed a recent march on the Queensland Parliament, attended by up
to 2,000 steel workers, to demand a fair go for manufacturing employees.

The march was prompted by engineering firm Evans Deakin Industries' (EDI) decision
to close two steel plants and put 260 employees out of work.

EDI blamed fierce competition in the international market, plus the state government's
lack of a local purchasing policy for the closure.

AAP dn/jhm/as

KEYWORD: MANUFACTURING (CARRIED EARLIER)

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