Future Of 75 Jobs At Auckland Pulp Mill In The Balance

A week after 230 workers heard the news of job losses due to the closure of the WPI sawmill and pulp mill in the Ruapehu District, another 75 pulp workers at the Oji pulp mill in Penrose are awaiting the announcement of their fate at 8.00 am on Wednesday 18 September.

Oji Fibre Solutions announced to its Penrose staff last month that it was considering closure and entered into a 4 week consultation period with the workforce and their unions, FIRST and E tū, followed by a 2 week decision period.

"On behalf of our members, the unions first asked a series of questions of the company regarding its proposal to close, then made a comprehensive submission that concluded with the call for the mill to remain open," said Justin Wallace, FIRST Union organiser for the Oji Penrose Mill.

"This mill is different from every other pulp mill in the country. Its feedstock is not wood, but recycled cardboard and paper."

"The mill is an integral component of New Zealand’s recycling system. By the company’s own admission, if the mill closes, New Zealand paper and card recycling will be sent offshore to Malaysia for processing."

"We’ve discovered that 80% of Malaysia’s electricity is produced by coal fired power stations and the additional carbon footprint of shipping recycling to Malaysia and importing paper back adds significantly to the carbon footprint of recycled paper production, making a mockery of any environmental credentials."

"In addition, United Nations and other reports are highly critical of near or actual modern slavery practices that workers face in the Malaysian timber and pulp industries."

While the price of electricity was the key reason for the closure of the mill, that price has now dropped. The union submission notes that, and offers alternatives to the company being held to ransom by the exorbitant wholesale spot prices of electricity as it has in the past.

"With less than two days to go until the Oji makes its final announcement, we’re calling on Oji Fibre Solutions to reverse its proposal, take up some of the union-generated proposals and keep the Penrose Mill operating as a key component in New Zealand’s recycling system," said Mr Wallace.

Mr Wallace said it was not too late for the Government and energy producers to intervene cooperatively in the market to reduce wholesale electricity costs and save mills like Oji’s Penrose plant from closure.

"Aucklanders will not be happy to lose a piece of vital infrastructure and see their recycling being shipped to Malaysia and back instead of dealing with the core issue of high energy costs in New Zealand," said Mr Wallace.

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