Geoff Harris of Carter Holt Harvey
About 160 timber workers are set to lose their jobs because a supply shortage caused by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires have left the Morwell mill unviable, according to its owners Carter Holt Harvey (CHH). Sources: Wangaratta Chronicle, ABC, Timberbiz
The workers were summoned to a meeting at the mill, where they were given offers of redundancy and told it could close as soon as August.
CHH said the mill “was not viable into the future”.
It is yet another blow to the Latrobe Valley, which is already dealing with the loss of about 700 local jobs after the Hazelwood power station shut down last month.
Geoff Harris, the CEO of wood products Australia at Carter Holt Harvey, said the site had been a key employer in the region for the past 35 years, but a shortage of pine following severe bushfires, including Black Saturday, meant the mill’s future was bleak.
“The likely closure of the mill is very real,” Mr Harris said. “The facts are our main supplier has told us outright that the availability of saw logs suitable to run this mill is now in jeopardy and they don’t have a solution for us.
“We fully understand and appreciate the distress that this will cause to all of our people that work for us, their families, and the Latrobe Valley.”
Mr Harris said their supplier, Hancock Victoria Plantations, had done everything possible to address the shortage but there was nothing they could do.
He said the fires had reduced Hancock’s pine plantation by 15%.
The Morwell sawmill is dedicated to making structural-grade timber for the use in residential houses. A pine plantation needs to mature to the age of 28 years to be suitable for production.”
Mr Harris said there was no other supplier in the region to replace Hancock.
In a statement, the State Government said it was deeply disappointed, but “eager to explore options to keep the sawmill operating”.
It said workers would be able to access support services from the Latrobe Valley Authority, which was set up to help the area respond to the Hazelwood closure.
“[The] Government will continue to discuss the sawmill closure with Carter Holt Harvey and advocate for company-led initiatives to minimise the impact to workers,” the statement said.
Latrobe City Council mayor Kellie O’Callaghan said Tuesday’s announcement by Carter Holt Harvey that it was consulting with staff on the possible closure of its Morwell sawmill has landed as devastating news to the community.
“Still reeling from the 750 job losses bought about by the closure of the Hazelwood Power Station this news will raise concern and anxiety around our economic resilience and strength,” Cr O’Callaghan said.
“Of course, our thoughts today are with the workers, their family and friends.
“We understand that announcements and business restructures made by corporations have ripples that flow through our community.
“We are adamant that these ripples will not defeat us, that as a community we will stand strong and stand together.
“Council will continue to lobby and advocate for the future of this community, to ensure that the concerns, hopes and aspirations of our community are championed at every opportunity; that this community and its needs are never forgotten.
“We understand the Latrobe Valley Authority will provide workers with access to support and assistance services.
“Most of all today, we thank the workers of Carter Holt Harvey for their years of dedication and service as members of Victoria’s iconic Gippsland timber industry.
“Latrobe City Council has a strong history of support for the timber industry, adopting Australia’s first Wood Encouragement Policy in 2015.”
The bad news just seems mounting in the region. THE Myrtleford Carter Hot Harvey mill lockout continues to drag on amid mounting tensions between unionists and non-aligned workers.
The union is also seeking to remove Carter Holt Harvey’s forest stewardship certification – a move the union says would ban its products from building sites and major hardware stores.
Last week Enzo D’Andrea, who is acting as the representative of the workers not in one of the unions at the mill, called for everyone to return to work. He says his group has swelled from 15 to 48 in three weeks.
“Neither the company nor the union seem willing to negotiate – it’s a stalemate and a lot of families are hurting,” he said.
But CFMEU assistant secretary Andrew Vendramini said his members were hardened in their resolve. He had little sympathy for the non-union labour.
“We had a meeting today and the message is we stay out here until this is resolved,” he said.
“None of our people are going to cross over to the other side and if the company is hoping they can get to a point where they could win a vote (through the non-union labour) on their EBA then they need to think again.
“They’ve got 40 or something we have 120.
“The fact is we offered them the chance to join us when this all started – even though they hadn’t been members we would have given them money to get through but they knocked it back.”
Workers had been escorted from the mill when they threatened industrial action some four weeks ago over a stalled new pay deal that demanded a 3 per cent pay rise over three years, better income protection insurance and a Christmas shutdown.
Despite all the soul-destroying news, human nature seems to find a way to try and correct the imbalance.
A mother of two who has benefitted from the generosity of the Myrtleford community in the past is calling on the same community spirit to rally in support of workers suffering from the Carter Holt Harvey lockout.
Carly Montgomery is part of a group delivering food and groceries to some of the families caught up in the industrial dispute.
The lockout over the mill’s enterprise bargain agreement started almost a month ago and while union workers have been partially supported, non-members have been left without pay.
She said some of the donations and the reaction of recipients had moved her to tears.
“Some of these families are really struggling,” she said.
“I don’t want this to be political, that’s not our motivation, I just want to help these families.
“In some ways it is simply about letting these people know the community cares – from my own personal experience battling illness I know that means a lot.”
Still on the negative side, the Australian Sustainable Hardwoods/Victorian Government stoush over a long-term log supply is currently in a state of limbo; the CFMEU continues to put pressure on politicians and the possibility of more talks remains just that … a possibility!
The official line from union is that discussions are continuing with the government and the company, however, there may be more developments soon as the union is scheduled to meet with all the workers on site.
ASH’s Heyfield Mill workers still face job cuts from September with a planned closure next year.
ASH had been offered a 155,000 cubic metres per annum contract by VicForests from 2014 through to 2034. However, early this year VicForests said it was not authorised to offer any more than 80,000 cubic metres of log in 2017-18 and less than that in the following two years.
“We have been forced into this position by the government. The only thing that will change this trajectory is if there is a new supply agreement offered by the government that is respectful of our business needs,” ASH CEO, Vince Hurley had told staff.
