BHP Billiton has thrown a WA lifeline to hundreds of workers facing the sack in NSW and Victoria by offering to turn former steelworkers into Pilbara iron ore miners.
The world's biggest miner said yesterday it would target the 1000 people to be laid off by BlueScope Steel as it tried to fill 600 vacant iron ore jobs in WA and 750 coal jobs in Queensland's Bowen Basin.
BlueScope is slashing staff because its export markets are being wiped out by the strong Australian dollar.
Despite the offer of high wages, BHP and other miners have struggled to get Eastern States workers to move to WA.
BHP Illawarra Coal president Colin Bloomfield said the company had already taken 50 people without mining experience and put them to work in its NSW South Coast coal operations.
Now it was planning to broaden its approach with jobs covering everything from base trades to high-skilled engineering positions.
"We recognise the impact the BlueScope decision will have on the Illawarra community, and as a member of that community and substantial employer in the region, we want to do what we can to support the BlueScope employees and others seeking employment in our industry," he said.
Other miners that have struggled to woo East Coast workers to WA are looking at BHP's move.
An extra 34,000 workers will be needed in the Pilbara next year.
Jobs Minister Chris Evans said BlueScope workers could claim grants of up to $6000 to relocate to the Pilbara, with another $3000 for those with dependent children.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott described the BlueScope sackings as a "dark watershed in the history of Australian manufacturing". He said the Government's commitment to the steel industry was undermined by its nine-month failure to fill the supply advocate position, who is supposed to ensure local companies got contracts in major projects.
With unions, Labor's Left and independent MP Bob Katter urging the introduction of policies that assured local content in big resource projects, Treasurer Wayne Swan said he was disturbed by suggestions some companies were being excluded from tendering for supply contracts.
The booming resources sector gets as little as 7 to 10 per cent of its steel products locally and some projects are believed to be adopting Chinese or Japanese product specifications which preclude Australian suppliers.
Mr Swan said he was particularly concerned that Australian companies were not even getting the opportunity to tender for projects.
Atlas Iron managing director David Flanagan said while more could be done to increase local content, it was very hard for locals to compete with the price and quantity offered by the Chinese <-- (My words) Don't blame us for using imported stuff, cheap and good.
The world's biggest miner said yesterday it would target the 1000 people to be laid off by BlueScope Steel as it tried to fill 600 vacant iron ore jobs in WA and 750 coal jobs in Queensland's Bowen Basin.
BlueScope is slashing staff because its export markets are being wiped out by the strong Australian dollar.
Despite the offer of high wages, BHP and other miners have struggled to get Eastern States workers to move to WA.
BHP Illawarra Coal president Colin Bloomfield said the company had already taken 50 people without mining experience and put them to work in its NSW South Coast coal operations.
Now it was planning to broaden its approach with jobs covering everything from base trades to high-skilled engineering positions.
"We recognise the impact the BlueScope decision will have on the Illawarra community, and as a member of that community and substantial employer in the region, we want to do what we can to support the BlueScope employees and others seeking employment in our industry," he said.
Other miners that have struggled to woo East Coast workers to WA are looking at BHP's move.
An extra 34,000 workers will be needed in the Pilbara next year.
Jobs Minister Chris Evans said BlueScope workers could claim grants of up to $6000 to relocate to the Pilbara, with another $3000 for those with dependent children.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott described the BlueScope sackings as a "dark watershed in the history of Australian manufacturing". He said the Government's commitment to the steel industry was undermined by its nine-month failure to fill the supply advocate position, who is supposed to ensure local companies got contracts in major projects.
With unions, Labor's Left and independent MP Bob Katter urging the introduction of policies that assured local content in big resource projects, Treasurer Wayne Swan said he was disturbed by suggestions some companies were being excluded from tendering for supply contracts.
The booming resources sector gets as little as 7 to 10 per cent of its steel products locally and some projects are believed to be adopting Chinese or Japanese product specifications which preclude Australian suppliers.
Mr Swan said he was particularly concerned that Australian companies were not even getting the opportunity to tender for projects.
Atlas Iron managing director David Flanagan said while more could be done to increase local content, it was very hard for locals to compete with the price and quantity offered by the Chinese <-- (My words) Don't blame us for using imported stuff, cheap and good.
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Perth is closer to SG :-)
