Tiwai workers 'have more clarity' after meeting with PM
Thursday, 16 July 2020
Tiwai employee and E tū union delegate Cliff Dobbie says the Government is doing all it can to get Southland going as the aluminium smelter prepares to wind down operations.
Dobbie felt he had a clearer picture of future options for his crew after meeting with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson at the E tū office in Invercargill on Thursday.
Before meeting with the union members, Ardern said she understood Rio Tinto was still in talks with Meridian Energy and the timing of those commercial talks would assist the Government in determining the timeframe it needed to support the region.
However, this had given good reason to speed up what the Government was already doing, she said.
“But what has been clear from the meetings today is that we are all in agreement that a transition is needed … that everyone wants high-wage, decent jobs here in Southland.”
While he is nearing retirement himself, Dobbie said he was worried about future income for his crew members – many of whom were under the age of 40.
But after the informal meeting over tea and biscuits, he was fairly confident they would be looked after.
**READ MORE:
* PM: Government needs to support job creation and transition in Southland
* The day the axe fell on the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter**
“I feel a lot clearer. They didn’t beat about the bush,” Dobbie said.
E tū organiser Anna Huffstutler said the meeting focused on what a just transition would look like and who needed to be sitting around the table for those discussions.
Government and E tū had embarked on a similar procedure in Taranaki to prepare for the closure of mines in the region, she said, but noted that the process would need to move a lot faster in Southland.
“It’s about bringing the community and stakeholders together and creating a roadmap,” Huffstutler said.
“Government is fully supportive of that.”
Timelines for these plans would be determined by negotiations between Meridian and Rio Tinto around how the smelter will be shut down, she said.
Dobbie said infrastructure and building projects were identified as possible sources of new jobs.
E tū organiser Mike Kirkword said it was too early to nail down where and how Tiwai staff would be absorbed into the Southland economy.
Rio Tinto had maintained good communication with staff, he said, but the union would support them right up until the closure.
The company was offering global redundancy packages for workers and would launch their My Future Plan programme to help them plan the next stage in their career, Kirkwood said.
“All that’s covered. They seem to have their ducks in a row,” he said of the smelter’s owner.
Kirkwood noted that the My Future Plan programme was also being rolled out in Iceland where the future of the Straumsvík smelter was under review.