Safety, training 'at risk'

By PAM GRAHAM


Small logging contractors say Carter Holt Harvey is leading a charge against them that will compromise gains made in safety and training.

Carter Holt wants contractors to cut their prices by up to 20 per cent.

The contracting industry, which grew as large forestry companies outsourced, does not have much fat to cut, says John Stulen of the Forest Industry Contractors Association.

Association president Jacob Kajavala, managing director of contractor KFL, said: "A lot of guys are standing on the edge waiting to see what happens."

The industry has raised standards over the past six years which would be eroded by cutbacks, he said.

The fear is that professional operators will leave the industry and that work put into harvesting infrastructure will be lost, as it has been in Northland and on the East Coast.

The forest sector is being squeezed by a high dollar and a doubling of shipping rates. At the same time, Carter Holt has sharply cut its harvest to build up the age of forests reduced by past aggressive cutting.

Contractors say new managers with less forestry industry background do not understand the audit and compliance issues borne by contractors.

Stulen said the contracting industry had been cut to the bone. "The problem is if the market accepts these sort of rates, then reputable contractors will not be able to meet health and safety standards."