March 29, 2004
Media Release
More job losses
for Tokoroa
Tokoroa is likely to lose another 30 jobs
Workers at the Kinleith surfacer, which planes rough-sawn timber, were today told by Carter Holt Harvey that the plant
may close.
EPMU advocate Megan Jones’Mamanu said that the closure of CHH’s Tokoroa sawmill in December had made closure of the
surfacer almost inevitable, but it had still come as a shock.
“We’ve been asking the company for three months whether there was more work coming, and they said it was alright,” she
said.
“Now there’s a month’s timber left, and we’re being told there’s no more. They should have consulted us earlier, when
there was still time to do something.”
The workers and their union have been given two weeks’ consultation over the proposed closure.
Ms Jones’ Mamanu said that the workers would try to get jobs in other mills in the area, but they would be joining a
long queue.
She estimated that at least 200 wood industry jobs had been lost in Tokoroa in the past six months.
The workers have a redundancy package in their collective employment agreement.
Ends