MORALE at train manufacturer Alstom’s Creswick Road facility is hitting a low, with employees angry the company might be out of work as soon as next year, the union has claimed.
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It comes after it was revealed the Ballarat manufacturer was culled from a list of bidders to manufacture 25 Metro trains as part of a multibillion-dollar upgrade of the Dandenong rail corridor.
Union officials believe the fight to build the 25 trains now sits between two Asian rail giants.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union delegate Dave Armstrong said employees had recognised there was a real possibility they could lose their jobs and were angry when they first discovered the decision.
“The mood on the floor is fairly low. There is a lot of uncertainty for the future,” he said.
AMWU state organiser Peter Douglas said he was hopeful both political parties would start looking at long-term rail plans rather than focusing on it just during an election period.
“The suburban system requires more rolling stock, so I hope a decision will be made for more rolling stock to be built here in Ballarat.”
Despite a visit form Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews on Friday, he made no commitment to ensuring the company would receive the tender if Labor was to win the election.
“They have never delivered a train late, they have never delivered a train over budget, they have the best reliability record of anywhere in the world,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t you back local people and local skills here in Ballarat?”
matthew.dixon@fairfaxmedia.com.au
