Unions unite for manufacturing jobs

CANBERRA: Two of Australia's largest unions are joining forces ahead of next week's Australian Labor Party national conference to lobby the federal Government to better support the local manufacturing industry.

The left-faction Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) and the right-leaning Australian Workers' Union (AWU) put aside their differences to officially launch the alliance in Canberra yesterday.

AWU national secretary Paul Howes said the focus would be on encouraging the Government to buy Australian in an effort to address the loss of 77,000 jobs in the manufacturing industry in the past 12 months.

"Australian manufacturers ought to be the first port of call when it comes to tendering for major infrastructure projects," Howes said, "as the benefits to the economy and the boost to employment far outweighs the cost and impact of sourcing materials made overseas."

- AAP