ACTU president Sharan Burrow said while Australia’s economy had not fared as badly as Europe, Africa and the US, up to 5,000 workers were still losing their jobs every week.
Speaking at an international industrial relations conference in Sydney, Ms Burrow commended the federal government’s stimulus package and the creation of jobs through spending, but said Australia was “not out of the woods” yet.
“There is certainly the risk of another dip,” she said.
“But whatever the situation, there will be no recognition of recovery from (the trade union) unless employment is part of the exit strategy.”
Ms Burrow said maximising jobs, reviewing targeted labour market programs for women, and urgently shifting towards a green economy would help Australia on the path to recovery.
She said the federal government had made headway with its renewable energy target legislation – passed by the Senate last week – which would unleash $20 billion in investment and translate into jobs.
“But we must not stop there,” she said.
“There is a six trillion dollar green economy global market out there right now and we are just not getting cracking to take hold of that.
“Nobody would have asked for the global financial crisis, but it is an opportunity to shift our economy to a green economy and strengthen our domestic base.”
Heather Ridout, chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, said Australia faced big challenges with its move towards a green economy.
“…Fundamentally the ETS (emissions trading scheme), which is a market-driven mechanism, is to do the heavy lifting if we are not to export jobs overseas,” she said.
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