Aftermath of calamity

Sacked abattoir workers

look for jobs, seek welfare from Vinnie’s and Salvos

THE sudden closure of Young’s Burrangong Meat Processors’ abattoir has thrown up another facet to the town’s calamity – 12 to 15 overseas workers are not eligible for federal General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) benefits and must find another job within 28 days.

The foreign employees, among 310 made jobless with the abattoir’s collapse last week, are holders of 457 Visas which enable skilled workers from overseas to work in Australia. They, too, have not been paid their final week’s wages or entitlements.

Parliamentary secretary assisting the State Minister for Rural Affairs and Primary Industries, Mick Veitch MLC, who is assisting Government action following the closure, says the Immigration Department has been apprised of the precarious position into which the shut-down has cast the overseas workers.

Left: Labor MLC and long-time resident of Young, Mick Veitch . . . “There is still plenty to do.”

Mr Veitch told CCN late this afternoon (Tuesday): “The placing of Burrangong Meat Processors into receivership is indeed a significant issue for Young. It is essential that the workforce receive all if their wages and any outstanding entitlements. The township is a very resilient one and I am quietly very confident that Young will overcome this major development for its largest employer. However, in the short-term, there is still plenty to do.”

Mr Veitch earlier told local media: “I hope things are moving in the right direction up there [at Young].

“Immigration was in Young on Friday and my priority has always been to make sure this was dealt with promptly. I was glad to see that (Primary Industries) Minister (Ian) Macdonald was able to change his itinerary to be able to be here [in Young].

“At the moment, (ALP) Senator Ursula Stephens’ (Chair of the Rural Communities’ Consultative Council) office is working with the Department of Immigration to sort this out.

“The main thing to do now is to make sure no-one is left behind,” says Mr Veitch, a long-time resident of Young.

Meanwhile, sacked workers are applying for jobs at meatworks across Australia.

Abattoirs in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia have been advertising for workers in the local newspaper, The Young Witness.

Roger Newport from the Primo Australia abattoir in Scone has told regional radio he is looking for boners, slicers, and slaughtermen.

“We process about 600 cattle a day, two thirds of it is for the export market,” he says.

“We currently employ about 310 people and we're looking to grow and expand our business by another 30 per cent.

“The ad [in The Young Witness] only went in on Friday and we’ve had six people from Young who’ve already applied for positions.

“We’re planning to head to Young this week to conduct interviews.”

The former general manager of Burangong Meat Processors, John Patterson, an employee of 15 years’ service, was also made redundant last week. The father of three is searching for another job.

“Obviously it’s like a lot of other people: just find a new career path and

see what’s out there,” he told regional radio.

Mr Patterson considers himself one of the lucky ones – he’s been contacted by other abattoirs keen to take him on.

But others aren’t so fortunate – many of the 310 sacked workers left without any pay or entitlements have sought immediate help.

The receiver for the abattoir, Alan Hayes of PPB, has told regional radio it could take months for employees to get their wages and entitlements.

“It can sometimes take up to four months,” he says.

“But I would think that the employees will get paid quicker through the GEERS scheme on this job than they would on many other jobs.”

Mr Hayes says the meat processing plant is a viable business. He has promised to find a buyer as quickly as possible, but warns the people of Young will have to be patient.

Welfare organisations in Young say there has been a huge increase in demand for food hampers and rent assistance after the workers were sacked.

The Salvation Army and Saint Vincent de Paul are meeting to discuss how they can cope with the need.

Laurel Merryn, from the Young Salvation Army, says the situation is expected to deteriorate in coming weeks as people struggle without money.

“We thought that maybe by combining our welfare resources we might be able to look at how we can assist as a group instead of individual welfare agencies to assist the people,” she says.

“Not every welfare agency can pay everything for everybody.”

Ms Merryn says Young’s real estate agents are also feeling the pressure as they must charge rent from people who cannot pay.

“We’re going to have people, if they can’t pay their rent, we’re going to have homeless people,” she says.

“In this town, we don’t have the resources to accommodate homeless people.

“We’ve had a huge run on food hampers for people to make sure their kiddies have got food.”

Manager of the local Saint Vincent de Paul’s store, Michael Holmes, says problems are compounded by delays in getting government help.

“They may be able to get a stop-gap payment from Centrelink, and that might go for a fortnight, then they’ve got to wait six weeks before they get on to a steady income again from social service, and that’s down to a minimum,” he says.

And a Sydney-based company wanting to buy the Young abattoir says it can negotiate what it will pay for the plant in the next 10 days.

Alex Khawary from Aus Pacific International Trade has told regional radio he is waiting for paperwork from the receivers this week before he can put a deal before the board.

Burrangong Meat Processors’ managing director, Grant Edmonds, says there has been interest from several companies, giving hope that the 310 redundant meatworkers may be re-hired.

And Young-based Nationals’ Senator, Fiona Nash, says she intends to meet the Mayor of Young, Stuart Freudenstein, on Thursday to discuss the situation.

Senator Nash says she has written to the (Deputy Prime Minister and) Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard, asking for an assurance everything possible will be done to help the sacked workers.