Together Union to pressure Rudd for job cut inquiry
QUEENSLAND'S public sector union will put pressure on federal MPs, including former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, to demand a federal inquiry into the State Government's unpopular job cuts.
And the focus of the inquiry would be the impact on regional communities, which have affected the availability of vital government services, Together Union secretary Alex Scott said.
"Queensland Government MPs have ignored the stories of pain and grief that have been laid at their doorstep," he said.
"The Federal Parliament must get to the bottom of that given that Queensland's own regional MPs have been so uninterested."
The union has gathered 19,000 signatures on a petition supporting a federal inquiry.
Mr Scott said that the impact of regional job losses went beyond the families concerned and affected the delivery of government services in areas like health and emergency services.
"Queensland's regions have been attacked through these job cuts," he said.
"The loss of jobs and services in local hospitals risk bringing us back to the bad old days of service delivery failures, and high unemployment. This inquiry needs to happen now before the future of regional Queensland is lost."
Mr Scott said Together had asked for support for the inquiry from MPs including Adam Bandt, Bob Katter and Kevin Rudd
The focus on Mr Bandt, Greens deputy leader, comes after he introduced a private members bill in Federal Parliament on Monday to amend the Fair Work Act.
The bill proposes a process for workers on an insecure basis to be moved to ongoing employment on a part-time or full-time basis.
The bill was to be debated on Monday night.
Mr Rudd has also been strategically targeted only a few months after he teamed up with Together union on LNP territory to denounce Premier Campbell Newman's job cuts.
