Critical national shortages of paper for a variety of products are expected in the coming weeks as a result of inaction over the supply of wood for the Opal Maryvale Paper Mill, the union representing timber workers has warned.
The paper shortages will hit medical prescriptions, school exercise books, food packaging, and paper utility bills, says the CFMEU Pulp & Paper Workers district secretary, Denise Campbell-Burns.
Ms Campbell-Burns said the union had been urging the state government to take action for months to address the wood supply crisis.
“Australian Workers at Maryvale are facing Christmas with uncertainty over their jobs and their future, while paper imports will rise and workplaces and businesses are expected to run out of paper,” Ms Campbell-Burns said.
“Maryvale Paper Mill is the only Australian manufacturer of the paper products Australian businesses, schools and consumers use every day.”
After running out of logs, Ms Campbell-Burns said workers at the mill watched the last M5 paper roll off the production line on Friday.
“Unless Opal Australian Paper and the Andrews government work with us to secure the alternate log supply needed, Australia will now be solely reliant on imports for its paper needs, and the jobs of 220 workers at the Mill are at risk.”
Shortages of the following products are expected in the coming weeks: medical prescription pads and print papers; A3, A4 and A5 print and copy paper; printed bills from service providers to customers, such as Energy Australia and Telstra; custom printing papers such as posters and specialist print jobs; exercise books; receipt books, envelopes; food bags – flour, sugar, lollies; hot food – barbecue chicken; hot dogs; kebabs and Jiffy postage bags.
The union has called for a change to the Victorian Forest Code of Practice and legislation to allow harvesting to restart as quickly as possible; assistance for Opal to identify and access alternate wood fibre supply, including freight subsidies where necessary; and for industry, union and government to meet and identify long term wood fibre access.
Opal has warned that there will be temporary stand downs for some work groups in January if it can’t find alternative wood fibre supplies.
The state government is setting up a Worker Support Service in the Latrobe Valley to help any Opal workers facing stand downs. The government says it is working with Opal to defer any potential stand downs and redundancies for as long as possible beyond Christmas.
VicForests, which is responsible for the harvesting sand sale of native timber and regeneration of harvested forest, is also providing support payments to sawmills and contractors to ensure workers are retained and paid.
The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, said the only actions that would secure jobs at the Maryvale mill was for Labor to end the ongoing green lawfare by closing the loopholes in the timber code of practice and reverse its decision to end the sustainable native forest industry in Victoria.
