The South Coast Labour Council has warned the government's obsession with cutting public sector budgets will lead to further job losses and alarm bells should be ringing amid a significant drop in TAFE enrolments.
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The union has also used the release of Tuesday's state budget to renew its plea for the government to use Australian steel, particularly given the uncertainty that lingers over BlueScope Steel's future in the Illawarra.
Less than a week after Wollongong public sector workers walked off the job to fight for their conditions, SCLC secretary Arthur Rorris said the budget had revealed the government would continue its "wages discipline" policy of no pay rises over 2.5 per cent.
"We note they want to extend the so-called efficiency dividends to all agencies and in so doing rake in hundreds of millions of dollars further to the cuts that have already been implemented," Mr Rorris said.
"We think this is a flawed strategy and will only lead to further cuts in both jobs and services in our region."
In terms of vocational education and training, Mr Rorris said the budget was proof the government's move to privatise TAFE hadn't worked.
"The evidence is in and we are looking at 30,000 fewer students who are even enrolling, let alone the hardship that is imposed on the ones that they do [have enrolled]," he said.
"That is a big slap in the face for the privatisation strategies that the government has called, ironically, Smart and Skilled. Clearly this is proof that ... we're not skilling our young people as they leave their schools."
Mr Rorris described the policy as "a disaster" and stressed the union remained opposed to it.
"With so many jobs being lost in the manufacturing and related industries, if there is one thing we needed at this point in time is a reliable and universally accessible vocational education training system. We need our TAFE, now more than ever," he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Rorris said given very few of the government's infrastructure projects would be in the Illawarra, "the very least Mike Baird can do for the Illawarra is to use our steel".
"If they [the government] do that much, that would be a positive contribution to our current woes in terms of domestic demand for our steel production," Mr Rorris said.
Member for Wollongong Noreen Hay echoed the sentiment, describing the budget as "Sydney-centric".
