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NSW timber workers shafted with support five times worse than Victoria

MEDIA RELEASE

TFTU says the Labor Government is short-changing its own people and not being accountable to workers.

The Timber, Furnishing & Textiles Union (TFTU) has condemned the NSW Government’s handling of the Great Koala National Park decision, saying workers are being offered redundancy support packages five times worse than their Victorian counterparts.

TFTU NSW Secretary Alison Rudman said the contrast showed just how little value the NSW Government placed on regional workers.

“Victoria showed how displaced timber workers should be treated: with dignity and proper support. In NSW, workers are being thrown scraps. This is Labor abandoning its own people in regional communities who have stood by the party for generations.”

The union said the NSW Government has also been dragging its heels on giving workers’ answers.

“We’ve asked again and again for information about how their scheme for unemployed workers will actually operate. Instead, the Government hides behind press releases and spin while workers face unemployment.

“That is not a fair go and it’s not what people voted for when they elected Labor,” Ms Rudman said.

Workers across the mid north coast are already reporting deep anxiety and uncertainty, with many forced to explain to their families that their jobs may be gone. In towns like Heron’s Creek, 85 mill jobs represent one-third of the town’s workforce, a blow that would hollow out the entire community.

“When you kill the timber industry, you kill the towns, schools, health services and small businesses all suffer. The so-called replacement jobs in tourism don’t exist. That’s the reality this Government is ignoring,” Ms Rudman said.

The TFTU is calling on the Government to reverse its decision and commit to a fair deal for timber workers and the communities they sustain.

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