Keppel Prince – Our call for Local Steel

On Tuesday the 30th of March the Australian Workers Union (AWU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) came together in solidarity to speak about the unfair treatment of our Keppel Prince workers outside Vestas. Union officials, Delegates, HSRs and Members came together to call out Vestas for importing steel from foreign countries including China and Vietnam instead of investing locally and Australian made. The impacts of importing steel for our wind farms has already made a huge impact on the Portland community and we say enough is enough.

With 41 Keppel Prince workers already being given the axe, there is a chance that more workers will lose their jobs in the near future. The AWU and the AMWU have worked together in calling out our Federal Government to invest in Portland, invest in our workers and invest in our local economy.

We continue to call on Dan Tehan and the broader Liberal Federal Government to establish a clear commitment to local steel for local jobs and stand with our Keppel Prince workers. Union official Rob Saunders, Delegate Selwyn Jones and Former Keppel Prince employee Tim Walls formed the AWU contingent who travelled to Canberra to send a clear message. “The government wants to sit there and talk about creating jobs, jobs, jobs don’t think, just do!” – Tim Walls The Australian Government needs to prioritise Australian products.

Australia produces some of the highest quality products available, yet our Federal government doesn’t prioritise Australian products on Australian projects.

As Governments set out to stimulate the economy in the coming months by spending huge money on public infrastructure projects – it’s essential that we back Australian products and create more Australian jobs.

Sign the petition today: https://www.awu.net.au/campaigns/buy-australian/