Workers who have lost their jobs after a Rotorua sawmill closed say they are worried they will not receive redundancy payments. Source: Radio New Zealand
More than 120 workers at Tachikawa Forest Products were handed termination notices at a meeting with the sawmill’s receivers, KordaMentha.
The sawmill closed and receivers told the employees it would not be able to restart trading. The receivers are now seeking a buyer for the business and assets.
First Union secretary Robert Reid said the receivers have told workers their redundancy pay could be delayed by weeks, or even months.
Reid said the union is working with Work and Income to support the workers.
Worker Turei Heurea said there is still no guarantee they will receive anything at all. He says he is not sure how he and other workers will make ends meet while they look for other work.
Heurea said the mill’s closure is a huge loss for Rotorua.
The Labour Party says the Government should work more closely with the forestry sector and there needs to be more investment in new technology.
The party’s spokesperson on labour issues, Andrew Little, said more resources also need to be put into training and new skills for forestry workers.
