Essential Energy will axe five per cent of its Northern Tablelands workforce in the first round of staffing cuts announced yesterday.
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Essential Energy announced earlier in the year that they plan to axe 1,395 jobs across NSW.
The company informed staff that a final meeting of the Redundancy Consultative Committee will take place on Tuesday 8 September, before individual employees impacted by the cuts are notified on September 9 and 10.
Essential Energy has informed workers that they 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.”
The Electrical Trade Union Deputy Secretary Neville Betts said they believe up to 70 jobs across the Northern Tablelands region could be at risk.
“We are expecting five local full-time jobs to be axed in this first round of 165 job cuts which represents about five per cent of the local workforce and this is a really big issue for places like Glen Innes because these are highly skilled well-paying jobs that will be taken away from the community," he said.
“For every 12 to 13 jobs removed it will equate to $1 million being taken out of the local economy which will no doubt have flow on effects for businesses in the area.”
Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said he will know more details and possible impacts on the region after he is briefed on Tuesday next week from Essential Energy senior management in Parliament.
“Such was my opposition to the Australian Energy Regulator’s draft determination earlier this year, I put in my own submission on behalf of Glen Innes and the rest of the Northern Tablelands opposing what I saw as a threat to local jobs and the reliability and integrity of the physical network,” he said.
“Sadly I didn’t get much support from any of the stakeholders at the time, I was very public and strident in my opposition to it and I foresaw job losses at the time and I remain concerned about the proper maintenance of the network.”
“There is always a balancing act of retaining local jobs, maintaining the network and delivering lower electricity prices, but the AER has got that mix horribly wrong for country NSW and I will continue to oppose what the AER is trying to do and the impact it will potentially have on our region and I urge the union to support me in that battle.”