The closure of Oji’s paper recycling mill in Auckland’s Penrose has been confirmed, with 75 jobs to go.
In August, Oji Fibre Solutions told staff it was considering closure and entered a four-week consultation period with employees and the union. This was followed by a two-week decision period.
The mill’s closure will leave 75 employees out of a job.
1News Katie Bradford is outside the Oji Fibrre Solutions plant in Auckland’s Penrose. (Source: Breakfast)
1News understands the mill’s last day will be December 18.
The mood was sombre as workers attended an 8am meeting to hear the fate of the mill and their jobs.
An employee of the mill who spoke to 1News as they left this morning’s meeting said it was “about what we expected”.
“The decision was already made quite some time ago.”
He said he could see the financial reasons for moving operations to Malaysia, but “ethically, it’s not a good move”.
Personally, he said he was “fine”.
He said: “I can find another job”, but there were “a lot of people here who will struggle”.
“I feel sorry for them, but they’ll get work. They’re very skilled.
“This is a very skilled plant; the people here are impressive, and the management here is impressive.
“I have never worked with a better team.”
In a statement this morning, Oji Fibre Soloutions chief executive Jon Ryder called it a “sad day” for the company and employees.
“I would like to emphasise that this decision to close Penrose Mill, is in no way a reflection of the calibre, dedication and skill of each and every one of our 75 staff there,” he said.
“We are doing all we can to support our people through this period, including matching them with positions across other parts of OjiFS, and working with other businesses to offer them the opportunity to take on high-calibre, experienced staff.”
He said the mill had suffered a three-year pattern of losses, with “no prospect of the situation improving”.
“As I’ve said before, these losses are caused by several issues, including but not limited to, dramatically rising energy costs, and freight and labour costs. We have looked at technology and other changes to save input costs. We have also considered options presented by our staff and their unions.
“At the end of the day, however, there is nothing we could find that would make a difference.
Ryder said the closure would not change Oji’s recycling operations.
“We will continue to collect wastepaper and continue to recycle around 90,000 tonnes of cardboard per year at our Kinleith Mill, near Tokoroa. OjiFS will remain New Zealand’s largest paper recycler.”
Following its closure, the mill plans to send all of its waste to Malaysia and then bring it back to New Zealand as recycled paper.
“The fact that the replacement supplier is an Oji-owned mill means we can be confident it will operate under the values and standards of the Oji Group.”
The move was criticised by the union because of environmental and humanitarian concerns.
“We’ve discovered that 80% of Malaysia’s electricity is produced by coal fired power stations and the additional carbon footprint of shipping recycling to Malaysia and importing paper back adds significantly to the carbon footprint of recycled paper production, making a mockery of any environmental credentials,” Justin Wallace, FIRST Union organiser for the Oji Penrose Mill said previously.
The Auckland mill’s closure comes a week after 230 workers heard the news of job losses due to the closure of two WPI mills in the Ruapehu District.
Unions react
In a joint statement today, both FIRST Union and E tū said it was a terrible outcome for the workers who are highly skilled and have roots in the community.
Justin Wallace, FIRST Union organiser, said the workers would be supported through the redundancy process.
Joe Gallagher, E tū negotiation specialist, said it was a tough day for the workers and their families.
“Places like the Penrose Mill are critical pieces of the industrial ecosystem, and this closure is bad for the economy, bad for the region, and it sends a very bad message to other manufacturers who are also struggling with runaway energy prices,” he said.
