AMWU olive branch rebuffed by employers

AMWU urges employers to revive past collaboration to drive better outcomes across manufacturing.

AMWU national secretary Steve Murphy.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union has urged employers to revive past collaboration with organised labour to drive better industrial relations ­arrangements across the manufacturing sector.

In a letter to Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox, AMWU national secretary Steve Murphy said the government’s new industrial relations laws gave the two organisations the “framework and ability” to consult and negotiate about many workplace issues.

“Under your predecessors, and previous legislative regimes, the AMWU and AiG enjoyed a strong, robust relationship when dealing with matters applying across our industries,” Mr Murphy wrote.

“Whilst metal manufacturing has always been the core, those discussions ranged across all areas of mutual interest, including major projects, automotive, printing, pulp and paper, and food.

“I am proposing that we resume those discussions, in the first instance to deal with the major issues confronting our manu­facturing industries.”

The Australian reported recently that companies across the paper manufacturing, printing and rail sectors could be the subject of multi-employer claims as the AMWU looked to use the new workplace laws to improve pay and conditions.

In his letter, Mr Murphy proposed giving priority to seven broad policy areas including industrial relations arrangements across the industry, especially hours of work, rates of pay and casual employment; training and skills including apprentices; and job security, and the possible development of updated provisions for termination, change and redundancy.

He told Mr Willox their two organisations had a proud track record of working together and they should co-operate to “rebuild a manufacturing industry that works for everyone”.

“In recent times, our co-operation has been limited by workplace laws that encourage conflict and the exploitation of workers,” he wrote. “With the changes to IR laws, we can resume our previous constructive relationship, for the good of the industry.”

In a statement, Mr Willox said Ai Group representatives were in “regular and sustained dialogue with the AMWU and other unions relevant to our members on a wide range of issues, including workplace relations, education, skills and training, skilled migration, energy and climate, industry policy and trade remedies issues”.

“We, of course, look forward to continuing that dialogue, particularly in the area of the skills our economy needs now and into the future, to the benefit of employers and their workforce.”

Mr Murphy said “a lot of local manufacturers will be disappointed the Ai Group are passing on an opportunity to discuss the problems our industries face”.

He said he began his apprenticeship in the mid-90s when unions and employers had a more collaborative approach to skills and industry policy, and when organisational structures and consultative committees encouraged consultation with unions and workers.

“It was also when our productivity growth surged,” he said.

“But the tripartite approach to our industry began to be dismantled towards the end of the decade. Unions were increasingly shut out and we lost those opportunities to sit around the table and talk about what was going on in manufacturing and what conditions workers wanted to improve.”

Mr Murphy said Australia was last in the OECD for manufacturing self-sufficiency and ranked 91 out of 133 countries on the Economic Complexity Index.