Essential Energy has revealed the location of its first tranche of staffing cuts, with 27 full time positions axed in the South Eastern region through a “spill and fill” process will require staff to reapply for their existing jobs.
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Essential Energy announced earlier in the year that they plan to axe 1,395 jobs across NSW.
The company informed staff that a final meeting of the Redundancy Consultative Committee will take place on Tuesday 8 September, before individual employees impacted by the cuts are notified on September 9 and 10.
Local depots that will lose staff include: Bega, Bombala, Cooma, Jindabyne and Moruya as well as a further 16 depots across the state.
Workers have been informed that they will need to reapply for their jobs through a process involving: “a basic psychometric assessment of cognitive capability, personality, motivations and interests; a selection criteria assessment; an interview; and, if required, a functional assessment.”
The Electrical Trade Union and United Services Union, which represent Essential Energy workers, said there were alternatives to the deep job cuts.
“Unions have put forward a range of options, including for job sharing arrangements and other efficiencies, that could drastically reduce the number of local people who will lose their jobs,” ETU deputy secretary Neville Betts said.
“What the community need to know is that these 27 local jobs are just the beginning and that there will be much more pain to come.
“Essential Energy management have told unions that they already know the names and location for the remaining twelve hundred job losses that are yet to be announced and we believe up to 300 of these will come from the south and central west of the state.”
Essential Energy's deputy chief executive officer, Gary Humphreys said Essential Energy is still appealing elements of the Australian Energy Regulator's (AER) determination that left Essential Energy without funding for an estimated 1,395 roles, costing approximately $15 million per month.
“We recognise this is a tough time for all Essential Energy employees and are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees, contractors and the public remains our top priority,” he said.
