Sabra Lane reported this story on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 08:00:00

TONY EASTLEY: The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard will visit Port Kembla in New South Wales today, to meet and talk to the workers from the BlueScope steel mill.



The company last week announced it would axe 1,400 jobs and would get out of the export market, after recording a $1 billion loss.



While the Government has announced a package to help the company and workers, locals say more should be done.



Here's chief political correspondent, Sabra Lane.



SABRA LANE: The Federal Government's already offered two packages worth more than $100 million to help BlueScope workers find new jobs and help the company restructure.



It's expected the Prime Minister will meet with about 25 union representatives and workers at Port Kembla today to discuss what else can be done.



ANDY GILLESPIE: So yes, I think she will get a very warm reception.



SABRA LANE: The local branch secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Andy Gillespie will be at the meeting. He says some mining companies have already registered their interest in hiring Port Kembla workers.



ANDY GILLESPIE: Well that's correct, the mining industry's come in, there's other industries they want to look at the skill base that they've got down here because our people are highly skilled, highly trained employees and they're motivated.



So any other... they would be an asset to any employer taking them on now because they already have the industrial smarts about them so they wouldn't take a lot of training in some industries to get them up to speed.



SABRA LANE: But Mr Gillespie will tell Ms Gillard that the Government needs to help contractors too. It's expected 300 of them will lose their work in the Illawarra.



ANDY GILLESPIE: The people who are contractors within the industry seem to be a forgotten people. And what we're saying to the Government is that they need the same assistance as the direct BlueScope employees.



So there's the issue with that. So we need to talk to the Government about releasing some of that money for BlueScope for the contractors that have been affected because some of them are specialised contractors and they've been in the industry for 25 or 30 years. So they're part of the industry with those specialised skills and they've been displaced as a result of BlueScope exiting the international market.



SABRA LANE: Is it unusual that a union's going in to bat for contractors?



ANDY GILLESEPIE: No I don't think it is. I think, you know, a job's a job, a human being's a human being and they just simply can't be left dangling at the end of the pole and just think there's some left over issue that needs to be dealt with some time down the track, and that's not the case.



SABRA LANE: Mr Gillespie says it's time that government contracts stipulated Australian made products be used, and he cites an example.



ANDY GILLESPIE: The pipeline in Queensland, which is to move the gas out of mines, was about 70,000 tonne of steel and that's now all coming from China, all the pipes and everything else. There's not one ounce of Australian steel in there and I find that offensive.



SABRA LANE: Can you mandate that projects here have a certain amount of Australian made steel product in them without being criticised as being protectionist?



ANDY GILLESPIE: Can I say to you, these people who are free traders really annoy me because it's not free trade. I mean we want fair trade. I mean it's not fair that China not to go to yuan, its currency. They subsidise their industries and it's all covered up and all hushed up. And really at the end of the day these subsidies can't continue to happen because they're putting us at a distinct disadvantage.



The only one that plays by the rules is the Australian Government and that's the only one. Everyone else cheats, connives and they find ways around it.



But the Australian Government will not. So I'm just simply suggesting that they need to have a good look at it, and if need be they need to introduce some tariffs to make it a level playing field rather than what they're doing now.



TONY EASTLEY: AWU (Australian Workers Union) branch secretary, Andy Gillespie, speaking there with our chief political correspondent, Sabra Lane.



Unions have also been pushing the Federal Government to hold an inquiry into the manufacturing sector. Yesterday they said the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard was receptive to the idea, but this morning the Prime Minister's office told AM there is no need for an inquiry.