Staff strategy flawed says union

The union representing forestry workers welcomes suggestions that several Kinleith-size plants may be built to process New Zealand's "wall of wood", but says employers are pursuing a flawed labour strategy.

"The business strategy of contracting out maintenance is a flawed strategy for improving processing," Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said yesterday.

His union is locked in a dispute with Carter Holt Harvey at the Kinleith plant in Tokoroa. The company wants to cut the 770-strong workforce by a third, including contracting out work done by 190 maintenance staff.

"Contracting out those sort of functions means that part of the workforce is not committed to the industry or the manufacturing plant," Little said.

To build processing, there needed to be greater commitment to developing the already inadequate skills base. The average Kinleith worker was 49. Contracting out exacerbated the problem.

"It reflects a huge shortage of labour that is skilled in those kind of disciplines. It reflects a failure to invest in training for the future.

"They do it to improve the bottom line, but it doesn't improve their business."

Little said many telcos which had subcontracted maintenance now had difficulties keeping basic infrastructure operating.

If Carter Holt was getting a low return, the union had "a record of coming to the party on that".

New Zealand's wood production is set to double by 2020.

About $6 billion is needed to develop processing plants. Key player Carter Holt says that will happen only if plants become internationally competitive.

Little said: "If Carter Holt says we should just atomise the operation and contract in anything other than the production labour, then I don't think you could set up three or four mills like Kinleith."

The union has taken the dispute to court, saying Carter Holt did not bargain in good faith. A decision is at least a week away.

- NZPA