10,000 Australian printing jobs to go in industry restructure
According to a report conducted by the National Institute for Economic and Industry Research and released by the AMWU, over 200,000 jobs will be lost across the manufacturing sector by 2020 with as many as 10,000 to come from the printing industry.
The AMWU claims the losses will be inevitable if the government does not change its current policy approach to the manufacturing sector. It points to current trends as evidence of this, which deliver a harsh message for the printing industry in relation to manufacturing as a whole.
Philip Andersen, CEO of Printing Industries, took issue with the union’s predictions of doom and gloom and insists they are based on the assumption that current industry models would not change.
“Our industry is today navigating the biggest change, challenges and opportunities since Gutenberg,” says Andersen. “The industry is changing from being mainly print based into a communications mix where print is one of the output alternatives linked to digital technology and its new mix of communication mediums,” he says.
“This is demanding greater flexibility in the workplace, diversity of business investment, new training regimes and new approaches to business management based on the reality that Australia is now part of the global trading community.”
The report claims that between 2000 and 2005 the print and print service industries declined 2.1 per cent compared to total manufacturing growth of 1.7 per cent. Trade indicators over the same period show that while total manufacturing exports grew by 0.6 per cent annually the print and print service industries declined by -8.3 per cent.
The AMWU predicts a decline in average working hours for manufacturing that will translate to an employment loss of 20 per cent, with the print and print service industries experiencing a drop in average working hours of approximately 17 per cent between now and 2020 – entailing the loss of around 8,000 to 10,000 print jobs.
Offshore print is singled out as a primary threat with the AMWU claiming between one third and a half of the estimated lost working hours will be attributed to increased use of offshore manufacturing.
Printing industry sectoral plan
In response to the implications of the report the AMWU is preparing a plan that will address the threats to the printing industry. The plan will explore the impact of offshore production and corporate rationalisation as well as proposing government incentives that would minimise the loss of business to offshore competition.
Andersen has welcomed the move and says it is encouraging the AMWU shares his organisation’s vision for an industry plan, but insists success can only be achieved by adopting a positive and proactive stance.
“There is little doubt many jobs will change and are changing daily as part of the industry transition, globalisation and the technological development process. New roles are constantly developing as new processes are adopted requiring new skill sets,” says Andersen.
“Service delivery is becoming increasingly global and businesses have to adapt to those demands. WorkChoices is an important reform providing the labour flexibility for this to happen,” he says.
“However, while we are on the road, there is quite a way still to go and it is very important that the government provide the necessary support to help businesses make this transition.”
The AMWU has already released details of its annual $1 billion policy plan for the manufacturing sector as a whole, that it claims would create nearly 300,000 direct and indirect jobs and increase GDP by at least $54 billion (in 2005 prices) if it was maintained from 2007 to 2020.
The policy plan includes:
A copy of the full report is available from the AMWU website, www.amwu.asn.au/images/state-of-manufacturing_0706.pdf while hard copies can be obtained from the AMWU National Office by calling (02) 9897 9133.