WOLLONGONG — Poppets Schoolwear announced plans to sack 47 employees last week, almost two thirds of the workforce at its Fairy Meadow factory. It was more bad news for Wollongong workers. On the same day, an announcement was made the King Gee clothing factory had closed in the Wollongong suburb of Bellambi.
Poppets blamed big clothing franchise Lowes, which chose not to renew a major component of its contract recently, taking its business off-shore. The company and officials from the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union (TCFU) have called on consumers to "buy Australian" in response to the sackings.
Illawarra Socialist Alliance convenor Chris Williams told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly: "Why is the government allowing this to happen? What are these workers going to do as the economic crisis worsens? If the ALP truly cared about working families they would take immediate action to defend these workers' jobs. We need to turn the tide and stop making workers pay for an economic crisis they did not create."
Williams said a "buy Australian" would blame consumers for a problem created by the pursuit of corporate profits. "Companies will move production off-shore to increase profits, regardless of who's buying their products. Poppets Schoolwear should be required to open its books for workers and the community to assess its financial situation.
"Otherwise, it should be placed in public hands and the jobs of the workers guaranteed by the government. This would be a decent response."