According to the ACTU affiliated Australian Manufacturing Workers Union "Australia's security relies on 4 uniforms". Its material attacking the LNP shows a photo of an Australian Army soldier, RAAF Airman, RAN sailor and a civilian worker next to an AMWU logo.
The AMWU is campaigning against the LNP because it wants the government to employ more civilian workers in defence industries.
Its campaign includes a petition and a request that members promote the following material on social media.
And that's just the start - here's their booklet cover.
Which features the AMWU's secretary on the inside cover along with heaps of ADF hardware and people.
There's a nice placement of the AMWU logo with this RAAF aircraft on the back.
And the Labor Party itself is even in there backing the AMWU campaign.
Clearly identifiable ADF people feature in this edition of the Labor Herald, a rag published by the Labor Party which was the vehicle for Victorian Labor MP David Feeney to officially launch the AMWU's campaigns.
This is right up there on the political partisan scale - but the ADF doesn't appear concerned.
Labor has emphasised the importance of teaching our children STEM. In Bill Shorten’s Budget Reply speech, he signalled that teaching STEM in our schools would be his focus for our future.
Today I am proud to launch these two campaigns; The Force Behind The Forces: The Defence Physical Sciences and Engineering Workforce and Securing Defence Capability: Fixing the Engineering, Science and Technical Skills Crisis in Defence by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and Professionals Australia. This joint campaign takes on the worthy task of bringing the attention of policy makers, opinion makers and the wider community to the deepening crisis confronted by the decline of technical skills in defence.
The AMWU and Professionals Australia have set out a strategic action plan that would ensure the capacity of Defence’s engineering, science and technical workforce could be maintained. Any failure to invest in these crucial skills risks our national defence losing capability, enduring higher projects costs and more schedule overruns, and the steady evolution of our defence organisation nto a dumb customer for industry, both domestic and foreign.
Fixing this growing skills gap is actually about the survival of defence’s physical sciences and engineering workforce – the force behind the forces.
LABOR HERALD ENDS
And this is the AMWU's blurb in support of their petition calling on the government to employ more workers - shown here with the photo of ADF uniformed people that appears above the petition at the AMWU website.
Respect Defence Workers: Cuts Could Kill
Our uniformed Defence Forces rely on a 'silent army' of civilian workers to support them.
An 'army' of engineering and technical workers spend every day at work making sure that the equipment used by our armed forces is working, is safe and is ready to go.
But a lack of planning and investment means that jobs are being shed, and skills are not being replaced.
Already, we are starting to face a shortage of these vital workers - and those that are left are being stretched thin.
To safeguard national security, Australia needs a civilian workforce capable of designing and maintaining a variety of military equipment.
These skills, knowledge and experience needs to be preserved into the future.
Join us in calling on the Government to invest in Defence skills and Respect Defence Workers.
Show your support by:
Signing the petition below.
And remember to share your support on social media with your friends and help spread the word.
