74 regionally-based Essential Energy workers were told on Tuesday by their management to clear out their belongings by Friday and not to attend work from next Monday. In total, 262 positions have been terminated in this round of job losses, with a further 315 having been cut since June this year. Another 123 workers are currently going through the voluntary redundancy process. “Calling people into a meeting and telling them that they have just three days to clear out their belongings, that their workplace access will be disabled and that they are not required to attend work, is an appalling way to treat loyal workers,” said Electrical Trades Union Secretary Steve Butler. “This company is 100 per cent owned by the public, there are tangible alternatives to cutting these jobs, yet the MPs elected to represent the communities impacted by these job losses have sat back and allowed their communities to be decimated.”
The company is one of three government owned companies that come under the umbrella of Networks New South Wales which includes Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy and Essential Energy, headed by Chief Executive Officer Vince Graham. In May 2015, Graham responded to the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) determination to reduce the earnings of energy companies throughout the country by a third over the next four by warning of up to 2,750 job cuts. He argued that the reduction of prices by up to 12% for the three companies creates an unsustainable budget necessitating job losses. At the time of printing, it was unclear whether Harden-based workers were affected by the cuts.
