Job Losses 'will Cut Power Bills'
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday October 8, 1991
Sydney Electricity has promised cuts in power charges after announcing yesterday that it will axe 750 jobs - more than 10 per cent of its workforce.
The action, which will cost at least $15 million in redundancy payments, has angered at least one major union which claims the authority sprang the plan on workers yesterday without warning or consultation.
Most of the job cuts will be in the authority's construction branch. The chief executive of Sydney Electricity (formerly the Sydney County Council), Mr Allan Gillespie, said the authority had "now moved out of construction on large scale (and) We can't go on ... continuing to pay for staff that we don't need".
He said consumers would benefit from the reduction in staff and use of contractors: "Priority will be given to commercial and industrial rates which are much higher than in other States, (but) customers in each tariff group will start to see the benefits from next year.
"We'll be keeping the cost of electricity down below the rate of inflation."
Mr Gillespie said the job losses would enable operating costs to be cut from $290 a customer in 1990/91 to $265 in 1992/93.
Sydney Electricity hopes to achieve the job cuts by voluntary redundancy. It will send out 1,300 voluntary redundancy offers next week. They will be directed mainly to construction workers, mechanics and plumbers.
Mr Gillespie said contractors would carry out these functions.
Sydney Electricity expects to complete the redundancies by the end of November, leaving it with a workforce of 4,850.
The workers would get the standard State Government redundancy package.
Mr Gillespie said he expected no trouble from the unions, and there had been "some consultation" already.
However, officials from the two main unions involved, the Municipal Employees' Union and the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), said yesterday that they had had no warning of the announcement.
An ETU organiser, Mr Col Harris, said he was concerned about the lack of consultation. His union represents 2,000 Sydney Electricity workers.
He said he had unsuccessfully requested meetings with the authority to discuss rumours about cuts.
The director of the Association of Professional Engineers, Mr Martin O'Connell, said it was concerned that the redundancies would see many older, highly skilled workers leave the authority.
© 1991 Sydney Morning Herald
