VICTORIA’S Manufacturing Minister Richard Dalla-Riva has warned that 1000 jobs could be lost at the Williamstown military shipyard after the federal government awarded a major defence contract to Spain.
But Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union assistant state secretary Leigh Diehm has labelled Mr Dalla-Riva’s comments “outrageous” and “unprofessional”.
Hobsons Bay Weekly understands that about 950 shipbuilding jobs at BAE Systems in Williamstown are guaranteed until 2015.
Beyond that, new shipbuilding contracts would need to be secured.
On Saturday, Mr Dalla-Riva said it was disappointing that a contract to build five keel blocks for the third Air Warfare Destroyer ship had gone to Spanish shipbuilding firm Navantia.
“There was an expectation that BAE Systems Williamstown would have the opportunity to bid for this work. This outcome is another blow for manufacturing in Victoria at a time of great pressure on this sector and could put at risk certainty and continuity of employment for 1000 workers at the Williamstown shipyards,” he said.
BAE will build two blocks for the ship under the $8billion Air Warfare Destroyer project, with 15 blocks manufactured by Forgacs at Newcastle and eight by ASC at Adelaide.
Mr Diehm, who worked at the Williamstown dockyards for 13 years, said the AMWU would meet BAE’s senior management later this week. He said the need to continually secure new contracts was the nature of the shipbuilding industry, and Mr Della-Riva’s comments were outrageous.
“It’s totally unprofessional of him,” Mr Diehm said. “There are no job losses at Williamstown – they’re actually employing people at the moment.”
BAE spokesman Simon Latimer declined to comment.
