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Motors running: Qantas-style dispute revs up in Holden
Read more: Motors running: Qantas-style dispute revs up in Holden | News.com.au
It doesn't mention anything about Daewoo, but I thought Krankin would bite.
Read more: Motors running: Qantas-style dispute revs up in Holden | News.com.au
•Holden boss can't confirm how long Commodore staying
• Says union comments about job losses "damaging"
• Both want government action to keep local industry viable
Read more: Motors running: Qantas-style dispute revs up in Holden | News.com.au
FIRST it was the Flying Kangaroo, and now car-making giant Holden has become the second iconic Australian brand at the centre of a looming industrial showdown.
Less than a week after the Qantas saga came to head and as New South Wales police also prepare for industrial action, unions claim Holden could shed 350 jobs early next year if it moves design work for its flagship Commodore cars overseas.
Although Holden, which has made Australian-engineered cars since 1978, denies the claims, managing director Mike Devereux could not confirm how long the Commodore would continue to be designed and manufactured locally.
“What I can tell you specifically is that it is difficult today to do things in Australia, to continue to manufacture things in Australia with the economic and political climate that we've got,” Mr Devereux said on ABC Radio.
"We ... fight every single day for the right to continue to do the three things that we do here, which is one of only 13 countries that does this stuff, and that's to design, engineer and build cars.
"That's what we're working hard to do."
Earlier today the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA) said Holden had advised it was “highly likely” the Commodore would be engineered and designed overseas after 2014.
The question of jobs heading overseas is also central to the Qantas dispute that last weekend saw management ground the entire fleet and forced an intervention by the Federal Government.
Mr Devereax confirmed Holden has had discussions with the union about possible options in the future, but had not yet made any decisions.
In a sign of escalating tensions between the parties he branded the union’s comments not only “strains of half-truths” but also damaging.
“It's illogical if the union's goal is to secure the bright future of jobs and investment in this country,” he said. “What we're seeing today… is the opposite of helpful.
“The back half of this decade ... is frankly anybody's guess. As to what it is Australian customers are going to want to drive in 2016, 2017, that's what we're trying to plan right now.”
The union’s chief executive Chris Walton today said Holden should be able to confirm the future of the Commodore because of the planning time needed for manufacturing the car.
“They would have to make decisions in the next few months,” Mr Walton said. “What they're trying to, unfortunately, suggest to the community is you don't have to worry about that until 2014, when in fact we need to worry about it now.”
He said that because of the lead time in car design, job losses could start early next year.
“We hope Holden will come out and confirm that they will engineer and design the post-2014 model in Australia. That would be the best outcome,” Mr Walton said.
One thing the union and Holden do agree on is the need for the Federal Government to take action.
“The Australian Government has historically co-invested in vehicle companies and we support that and we suggest that should tie that money to a commitment from Holden to keep the engineering and design in Australia post-2014,” Mr Walton said.
Holden’s Devereux said the company would also welcome co-investment from the Government.
“Australia needs to fight for its right to make things like automobiles in this country,” he said.
Monash University employment relations professor Greg Bamber said there was a “great deal of international sharing of development costs and skills” in the car industry and although it was not yet inevitable the jobs would move offshore it was an increasingly likely reality.
“What we’re probably not going to see in the future is a car that is completely designed only in one location because these big international car manufacturing companies have design teams all over the world,” Professor Bamber said.
But he said it was too soon to predict another Qantas-style confrontation.
The latest unrest comes as NSW Police say they'll stop issuing minor fines and will work to rule under immediate action called for by their union after a decision to slash their injury compensation scheme.
The NSW Police Association today called on officers to use their discretion when issuing on the spot fines and work in “strict accordance with police guidelines” for non-urgent matters.
Association President Scott Weber said police were disgusted by the overhaul of the death and disability scheme, which will scrap the generous payout currently made to injured officers.
Read more: Motors running: Qantas-style dispute revs up in Holden | News.com.au
It doesn't mention anything about Daewoo, but I thought Krankin would bite.
