SA Unions has rightly celebrated the victory of union campaigns to retain Adelaide submarine maintenance jobs. However, as the most important voice for working people, unions need to say much more about the Government’s recent submarine announcements:

• Nuclear danger: there is no such thing as safe nuclear power, or safe nuclear waste disposal. All unions should get behind the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) nofuture4nuclear.org campaign.
• Aboriginal sovereignty: unions need to stand in solidarity with First Nations people against uranium mining and waste disposal on stolen Aboriginal land.
• No to war: the submarines announcement is part of sabre-rattling by Australia’s rulers and their allies against China, bringing the horrors of war back on the agenda for billions of people around the world.
• Better jobs: with the need for more renewable energy and sustainable transport, there are so many opportunities to create good jobs that don’t threaten people or the planet.

We call on SA Unions to make a clear condemnation of the decision to build nuclear submarines, and campaign instead for sustainable, peaceful, secure jobs.