News reports of the Abbott Government fudging jobs numbers is further evidence that they have no idea how to fulfil their election promise to create one million new jobs, unions say.
Coming off the back of revelations buried in more than 50,000 pages of regulations that the Government will slash the take home pay of some of the country’s lowest paid workers, ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said the Abbott Government is playing loose with the truth.
“The Abbott Government should spend more time coming up with a plan for jobs instead of a plan to fudge job numbers,” Mr Oliver said.
“Australians saw one Tony Abbott during the election campaign – the guy that promised one million new jobs and said he’d stand up for working people – and another that has done the complete opposite since he became Prime Minister.
“The Abbott Government has misled the community over wages and productivity, they’ve misled the community over conditions at SPC and Toyota, they’re now trying to mislead the community over jobs numbers and under the guise of removing red tape, they’re actually slashing the pay of some of Australia’s lowest paid workers by almost 25 per cent.
“This is in addition to putting the whole workplace system on notice – pay and conditions, rights at work, collective bargaining and unfair dismissal – which are all on trial by the Productivity Commission.
“Make no mistake, the Abbott Government is hell-bent on slashing the wages and conditions of working Australians.”
Mr Oliver said everything workers have seen from the Abbott Government is a complete repudiation of their pre-election promise that wholesale changes were not on the agenda.
“Instead of fulfilling their commitment to create one million jobs, they goaded the car industry off our shores, are doing nothing to promote a robust manufacturing industry in Australia and even admit their own actions will see Qantas jobs sent offshore.
“The Abbott Government has no plan for jobs in Australia.
“We should be seeing 600 new jobs each day if the government is to fulfil its promise of one million new jobs in five years.
“The only plan that is clear from this Government is one that involves a cut to wages and conditions – anything to appease corporate Australia.”
Download this ACTU media release: Abbott govt fudges jobs numbers
