January 22, 2016
Energy Minister Mark Bailey must address community concerns over potential job cuts at Ergon Energy, according to the LNP.
Shadow Energy Minister Andrew Powell said Ergon workers had walked off the job in Bundaberg, citing fears of job losses and a wind-back in network maintenance as major issues.
“This latest strike in Bundaberg follows a similar walkout in Atherton last week, where the same issues were raised,” Mr Powell said.
“The Palaszczuk Labor Government must be held to the commitment they made to protect frontline workers.
“Minister Bailey had previously publicly guaranteed job security for workers at State-owned electricity companies but has now gone to ground.
“It’s concerning for workers and for the community that we’re hearing reports 13 Ergon jobs are to be cut from the Fraser-Burnett region alone, but Minister Bailey remains silent.
“Queensland has so much potential but this kind of sloppy administration from Labor is holding our state back.”
Mr Powell said the LNP was also concerned over reports of cuts to crucial maintenance programs at Ergon.
“The Palaszczuk Labor Government has loaded up Ergon with the State’s debt and is stripping all profits out of the company to fill their Budget black hole,” he said.
“I’ve always feared that these short-sighted decisions could impact network safety and reliability in the future.
“The Energy Minister’s old union even describes the current situation at Ergon as ‘dangerous’ and ‘unsafe’.
“These are very serious claims and more than 733,000 Ergon customers and thousands of employees deserve an upfront response from Energy Minister Mark Bailey on this issue.”
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