Unions push for involvement under Future Made in Australia agenda

The AMWU says jobs created under the Future Made in Australia policy should go to workers on union agreements, with business warning that productivity could be undermined.

AMWU National Secretary Steve Murphy. Picture: Facebook

The manufacturing union says jobs created under Labor’s $22.7bn Future Made in Australia policy should be given to workers employed on union agreements, fuelling business concerns the program’s objective of making Australia more competitive and productive could be undermined.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union national secretary Steve Murphy told the economics legislation committee on Wednesday the sectors covered by the Future Made in Australia initiative fell within the coverage of the AMWU and the Australian Workers’ Union.

“The overwhelming evidence is that union agreements and union jobs are better paid, they have better job security and they are safer,” Mr Murphy said.

“And we at the AMWU want well-paid, safe, secure jobs. And that’s why the jobs from this should have union agreements. They should be unionised.”

ACTU president Michele O’Neil said it was important jobs under the Future Made in Australia agenda were “in the right places, and that we make sure those jobs are good-quality jobs … where people are safe, where they’re paid fairly for the work that they do.”

Ms O’Neil said the representatives of workers should have a role to play in upholding the “community benefit principles” contained within the legislation, so they could raise concerns if “something goes off the rails”.

“It makes sense to … have a mechanism for that to be raised and resolved. And, hopefully, in most cases that would be resolved through some discussion and some conciliation.”

However, Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black sounded the alarm on the Future Made in Australia program becoming a “honey pot for unions” in the wake of the CFMEU scandal and expressed concern it could “leave taxpayers worse off.”

He was concerned the “community benefit principles” in Labor’s legislation would open the door to union involvement, given the requirement for Future Made in Australia assistance to promote “safe and secure jobs that are well paid and have good conditions”.

In July, the BCA met with a delegation of businesses from the US and was warned there had been cost blowouts of upwards of 50 per cent on some Inflation Reduction Act projects. It was told the US version of the community benefit principles, which includes procurement contracts with unions, were placing greater upward cost pressure on projects.

“Feedback from colleagues in the US is that IRA projects have seen major cost blowouts,” Mr Black said. “Australia is at risk of repeating with the FMIA the issues we’ve seen recently with the CFMEU, which include union deals adding to price pressures.

“The government needs to ­ensure the framework to deliver these critical projects from day one stamps out any risk of criminal or unlawful conduct, such as that which has been alleged against the CFMEU.”

He told the hearing the key ­factor in determining if projects should receive funding should hinge on “whether or not we become more competitive, more productive and create more jobs.”

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said the focus of the community benefit principles on “regional communities, diverse workplace and secure jobs appears to relate to the achievement of other agendas”.

“Decisions on investment made under FMIA must be determined by classic principles of value for money for taxpayers – not a new formulation which brings a union agenda or other points in terms of inflexible or unproductive work arrangements through the back door,” Mr McKellar said.

Minerals Council deputy CEO Sid Marris said if the government “went down that path, which is contrary to what they’ve been saying they were going to do, it would materially affect the ability of companies to engage creatively and innovatively with their workforce and create the highest productivity in their workplace.”