Unions pressure RBA for rate cuts
(26 August 2011 – Australia) Two of Australia’s largest unions are demanding the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut interest rates as part of a rescue package for Australian manufacturing.
The Australian Workers' Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union warned the mining boom was pushing up the value of the dollar and reducing the competitiveness of local suppliers.
‘’The mining boom is not benefiting the wider economy, it is ripping it apart,'' they said.
One factor was the high official interest rate which was boosting demand and thus value of the Australian currency, said AWU national secretary Paul Howes, who accused the Treasury of ''some pretty dodgy economics'' in putting up rates.
They called for a national audit of all major mining projects to determine the real level of local content, which is estimated at less than 10 percent.
In a joint statement they said: ‘’As the mining boom continues to push up our dollar and the cost of inputs for local manufacturers, it is time to ask whether the jobs of millions of Australians should be sacrificed to economic conditions created by an industry which employs around 200,000 people.’’
''There are one million manufacturing workers in Australia and hundreds of thousands more in industries like tourism, agriculture and education which are all suffering because of the high dollar caused by our commodity exports.''
‘’The mining boom is not benefiting the wider economy, it is ripping it apart,'' they said.
One factor was the high official interest rate which was boosting demand and thus value of the Australian currency, said AWU national secretary Paul Howes, who accused the Treasury of ''some pretty dodgy economics'' in putting up rates.
They called for a national audit of all major mining projects to determine the real level of local content, which is estimated at less than 10 percent.
In a joint statement they said: ‘’As the mining boom continues to push up our dollar and the cost of inputs for local manufacturers, it is time to ask whether the jobs of millions of Australians should be sacrificed to economic conditions created by an industry which employs around 200,000 people.’’
''There are one million manufacturing workers in Australia and hundreds of thousands more in industries like tourism, agriculture and education which are all suffering because of the high dollar caused by our commodity exports.''
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