Union doorknocks voters over Geelong job losses in lead-up to Victorian election
Sat 18 Oct 2014, 12:34pm
ABC News
Hundreds of disgruntled Geelong workers have taken to the streets to raise awareness about local jobs in the lead-up to the November 29 Victorian election.
Geelong was hit hard in recent years with closures and widespread job losses at Ford, Alcoa, Qantas and Target.
About 300 workers at the Ford Broadmeadows and Geelong plants lost their jobs this year and 1,000 Alcoa workers will lose their jobs when the Point Henry smelter and two rolling mills are closed.
The secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, Luke Hilakari, said about 300 workers, including nurses, paramedics and firefighters, have spent the day doorknocking locals about the issues that matter to them.
"Denis Napthine has been the jobs destroyer," he said.
"He's had no plans for jobs for over four years.
"Forty-six people every day under this Government have lost their jobs and there is no plan to get them back to work."
A $29 million fund was set up to assist the region to recover from the job losses, but Mr Hilakari said it did not go far enough and was too late.
"We have the highest unemployment of mainland Australia and two months out from the election, Denis Napthine has just started talking about jobs," he said.
"He's been too late to invest in Victoria."
Mr Hilakari said the Government should restore funding to TAFE, start investing in local industry and implement a local procurement policy "putting Australian and Victorian workers first".
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