Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

What we have regrettably been seeing around this country is too many Australian workers losing their employment and it might not be dawning on some of the former trade union officials sitting opposite but it is dawning on some practising trade union officials that sometimes it is worthwhile to say no pay increase to protect jobs. The AMWU saw the sense of that at SPC. It was the National Union of Workers who saw the sense of that at Coca-Cola Amatil in recent times. Even the CFMEU in Western Australia was mugged by that reality recently with a building company where they agreed to a substantial reduction in income to protect their jobs.