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The FIRST Union says the Government’s investment of $5 million in Team New Zealand’s next America’s Cup challenge is in stark contrast to the inaction shown to the plight of Rotorua sawmill workers.
Wood sector secretary Rawiri Daniels says the closure of the Tachikawa sawmill because its Japanese owners ran out of working capital to buy logs is symptomatic of the deep-seated problems in the timber industry.
He says there is no bright future for the 120 workers, most of whom are Maori, and little chance of the sawmill reopening under new owners before Christmas.
" It’s a huge blow, but this is not uncommon to what happens in communities where people get disenfranchised, where they lose jobs, where they do not have any other opportunity for employment and they basically all have to start again. Unfortunately it happens a lot to our Maori people. The Government's quite keen to put in an injection in to companies like Rio Tinto or using the Americas Cup for example, it's good window dressing but it doesn't do anything for our kaimahi back in our regions where they desperately need the support," Mr Daniels says.
FIRST Union is working with Work and Income to get the sawmill workers some help with immediate needs
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