Leon Bignell
An overhaul of ForestrySA operations could see more than half the current workforce in South Australia privatised. Source: ABC News
Workers in the state’s south-east were told OneFortyOne Plantations would assume full management of plantation forestry assets.
South Australian Forests Minister Leon Bignell travelled to Mount Gambier to tell more than 70 workers the news.
He said about 60 staff would be offered new employment deals with the company and it should achieve greater job certainty.
“We think a lot of them have probably seen the writing on the wall and thought this will happen and for a lot this is not going to be a scary thing,” he said.
The rest of the jobs will remain with state-owned ForestrySA. Workers transferring to OneFortyOne would keep their current employment terms and conditions, Mr Bignell said.
The Minister said the company had guaranteed permanent jobs would be maintained at the current locations until at least the middle of 2018.
He said ForestrySA’s operations in the state’s mid-north and in the Mount Lofty Ranges will be unaffected by the current announcement.
The SA Government is keeping ownership of forest land, water and carbon rights.
An executive for OneFortyOne Dave Rumker said the company had been impressed in its dealings with ForestrySA.
“Their dedicated commitment … over almost three years of operations has been critical to our success in the region,” he said.
In 2012, the State Government sold up to three forward rotations of timber harvests in the south-east to OneFortyOne for 105 years, getting an up-front payment of $670 million.
As part of that deal, ForestrySA was to manage the south-east plantations for five years until late 2017 and possibly beyond.
