Canteen jobs ‘doubt’ as Abbott tours Ford

JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Twelve canteen staff whose jobs are under threat at Ford’s Geelong plant are symptomatic of how carbon tax would impact on Australia, according to the Coalition’s shadow industry minister.
Sophie Mirabella accompanied opposition leader Tony Abbott on a tour of the factory to highlight the threat of carbon tax job losses.
The 12 workers were waiting to hear whether they still had jobs after their employer, catering group Sodhexo, lost its canteen contract to Compass Group.
A Sodhexo spokesperson confirmed the lost contract.
The company had no other work available in Geelong but would offer the canteen staff “outplacement services” to find new jobs, the spokesperson said.
A catering assistant said Compass had interviewed staff but were still in the dark on their futures the day Mr Abbott visited the factory.
Ms Mirabella said the potential job losses demonstrated the impact of a carbon tax on manufacturing.
“This shows that suppliers will be crunched,” she said.
“There has not been a lot of discussion on the flow-on effect but it will be disastrous. If you hurt Ford you hurt Geelong.
“We don’t want to see jobs lost in Geelong.”
Ford shut down its Territory rear-floor assembly line for Mr Abbott’s visit as workers queued for photos with him.
Mr Abbott said a carbon tax would price manufacturing out of the Australian market.
“This is an electorate that must change hands if we are to stop the carbon tax,” he said.
“The carbon tax will be low when it starts but after that it will go up, up, up.”
Geelong Trades and Labour Council secretary Tim Gooden said Mr Abbott “could not lie straight in bed”.
“What he’s saying about a price on carbon is nothing short of the-world’s-going-to-end type scaremongering,” he said.
“Business has to help in the transition to a carbon-neutral society. Most of the big businesses I’ve spoken with in Geelong are more than happy to contribute to the cost of that transition.
“Mr Abbott wants to run a scare campaign playing to the worst fears of workers – losing their jobs. I have more respect for the intelligence of workers than Mr Abbott does and his simplistic views of the world don’t help one iota when it comes to running the country.”
Mr Gooden said the canteen jobs were part of a normal changeover of contractors at a company as large as Ford.
“Alcoa and Ford and the like aren’t going to determine how many jobs they have based on a carbon price. Their main factors are the strength of the dollar and demand for their product.”
Compass had not returned the Independent’s calls for comment before the paper went to press on Wednesday afternoon.