THE Great Lakes’ Essential Energy depot is amongst 20 others across the north coast facing job losses.
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There are currently 15 employees based at the Forster Tuncurry depot.
More job losses: Great Lakes-Taree could lose 20 TAFE jobs...click here
It is the first stage of Essential Energy’s 1,395 job cuts across NSW and depots in Taree, Bulahdelah, Dungog, Forster, Gloucester, Port Macquarie, Stroud, Ewingsdale, Ballina, Murwillumbah, Tweed Heads, Dorrigo, Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Nambucca Heads, Casino, Grafton, Kyogle, Lismore, and Maclean will have 47 full time positions cut from their operations.
Earlier this year, the publicly owned regional electricity operator said that it needed to lose 1,395 unfunded positions that were costing it almost $15 million a month. It said it was consulting with unions on a revised redundancy policy that would see 700 redundant positions nominated early September.
A further 695 redundant positions will be announced following the outcome of Essential Energy’s appeal against the Australian Energy Regulator’s determination.
“The first phase of job reductions will comprise re-deployees and positions where the function is discontinued at a location or fewer employees are required to perform a function at a location,” Essential Energy's deputy chief executive, Gary Humphreys, said.
Since Essential Energy’s reform program began in July 2012, it has reduced its workforce by more than 800 employees across NSW through natural attrition and voluntary redundancies, including more than 250 in Port Macquarie.
Staff were recently informed that a final meeting of the the Redundancy Consultative Committee will take place on September 8, before individual employees impacted by the cuts are notified on September 9 and 10. Those affected will need to reapply for their jobs through a process involving “a basic psychometric assessment of cognitive capability, personality, motivations and interests; a selection criteria assessment; an interview; and, if required, a functional assessment.”
Representing Essential Energy workers, the Electrical Trade Union and United Services Union said that 47 job cuts is just the beginning.
“What the community need to know is that... there will be much more pain to come. Essential Energy management have told unions that they already know the names and location for the remaining twelve hundred job losses that are yet to be announced and we believe more than 350 of these will come from the North Coast, ” ETU deputy secretary Neville Betts said, adding that there are alternatives to the deep job cuts.
“Unions have put forward a range of options, including for job sharing arrangements and other efficiencies, that could drastically reduce the number of local people who will lose their jobs.
“Allowed to continue, these huge staffing reductions will result in the loss of specialist skills and experiences from these communities resulting in chronic future skills shortages not to mention network reliability and safety concerns.”
USU energy manager Scott McNamara called for action from the state’s politicians.
“Before the election, National Party politicians were extremely vocal about protecting Essential Energy jobs. It seems they were really only interested in protecting one job — their own.”