Kinleith redundancies known 'within 3 weeks'

Judgement day is looming for 772 employees at the Kinleith pulp and paper mill who will be told within the next three weeks whether they have been sacked or
retained.

Late last month Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) announced that over 400 staff would be made redundant from the mill. Since then the company had been negotiating with the Engineers' Union and other employees' rights groups over the mill workers' fate.

In its March announcement CHH also said it intended to contract out maintenance and stores operations and "reconfigure" the production process.

Another 190 positions would be created through the contracted company. Whether any of the laid-off workers will be included in that figure is still not
known.

In a statement issued late yesterday CHH Kinleith chief executive Brice Landman said a decision on which staff would be without jobs was due in three weeks.

"I am confident that we will be able to announce the new structure within the next three weeks," Mr Landman said.

Once the structural decision had been announced, a second period of consultation with employees would determine the best method of implementation, he said.

The company was continuing to negotiate with the combined site unions to secure a new collective employment agreement, to replace one which expired in March 2001.

"On March 27, when we announced a restructuring proposal, we asked all employees to contribute their ideas, suggestions and comments through a
comprehensive consultation process," said Mr Landman.

"Although I have been disappointed by the lack of response from waged employees, salaried employees have made many thoughtful submissions."

Kinleith is the New Zealand forestry industry's biggest production facility, earning approximately $500 million of overseas revenue a year - 14 per cent of the country's wood exports last year.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)