The peak body for working people has condemned Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his comments that the 220 people sacked from the Kimberley Clark Huggies factory in Ingleburn in south-west Sydney should be “able to weather the disappointment”.
Speaking at a press conference in Googong Mr Morrison said:
“Whether it’s here in New South Wales or anywhere else around the country and in a big city like Sydney, what we see is that people are able to weather the disappointment and the impact I know that this can have on individuals when there are changes in these businesses.”
The Huggies Factory closure announcement comes after US multinational Kimberly-Clark decided to offshore the nappy production to Asia.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary Sally McManus:
“Working people deserve a leader who is in their corner.
“Clearly Scott Morrison has no idea what these workers and their families are going through.
“The fact that he describes the sacking of 220 people in his home state as a ‘change in business’ shows he only has one perspective, the perspective of big business”.
“Most people would react with some compassion for people who have, through no fault of their own, been deprived of their incomes.
“But the Prime Minister has simply said that people should be able to ‘weather the disappointment’. I wonder if he will say the same about some of his colleagues on election night in six weeks’ time?”
“Mr Morrison should be backing the workers in their attempts to keep these jobs on shore. A decent PM would be fighting in their corner.”
