Unions
A jobs plan is needed post-COVID, says ACTU
Australia needs a national economic reconstruction strategy, including a comprehensive jobs plan, in response to the pandemic, argues the ACTU.
In a pre-budget submission sent to the Treasurer, the ACTU says the Morrison government’s fiscal response has been smaller as a proportion of GDP than Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, USA, Hong Kong, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The submission calls on the government to adopt a national economic reconstruction plan.
The ACTU has put forward five practical proposals in its job plan:
- A national strategy for early childhood education and care including free, universal, accessible childcare
- A training for reconstruction plan which includes 150,000 free TAFE courses and a 50 per cent government wage subsidy that goes for the life of apprenticeship or traineeship
- An initiative to help out travel and hospitality sectors and regions recover and survive
- A plan to significantly boost investment in public capital projects by increasing public capital spending back to 6.5 per cent of GDP
- A sustainable manufacturing strategy.
ACTU President, Michele O’Neil, says “the Morrison government has been consistently slow to act … and the crisis has been made worse by persistent uncertainty about the economy”.
“We stand ready, as we have for months, to work with government to create jobs and support Australian industries,” she said.