Unions claim the Tasmanian Government is trying to shed about a quarter of Forestry Tasmania’s workforce before a pay rise its workers have been awarded kicks in. Source: ABC News
Forestry Tasmania is consulting on a plan to shed between 50 and 100 full-time equivalent positions as part of its bid to downsize and become profitable.
Community and Public Sector Union secretary Tom Lynch said the company was working to a deadline of June 30, a timeframe denied by the agency.
“It seems to be the push, as there’s a wage increase that applies at Forestry Tasmania from the first of July [of] 2.5%,” he said.
“There seems to me to be an effort to get people out of the door before that wage increase applies.”
The Government has not yet confirmed the timetable, which Mr Lynch said did not give outgoing workers enough time to ready their finances.
“People are unable to get financial and superannuation advice before they make decisions on accepting redundancies,” he said.
Forestry Tasmania last week held consultation sessions about the restructure with its workers in Camdale, Perth, Geeveston and Hobart.
It is understood consultations will continue next week with staff at the company’s head office.
Successive state cabinet ministers have said they “did not envisage” the sale of land as part of Forestry Tasmania’s sale of its hardwood plantation estate.
Earlier in the month, Treasurer Peter Gutwein hit out at the State Opposition’s claim the company was “selling the farm”, comparing the plantation estate sale instead to “selling a crop”.
But on Friday, Forestry Tasmania’s chairman Bob Annells left the door open on the potential sale of land assets during an interview on 936 ABC Hobart.
Mr Lynch claimed that showed government had misled voters.
“The Government is literally selling off the farm,” he said.
