Workers at Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery have been terminated

THE administrators of Queensland Nickel have sacked more than 550 workers at the refinery with employees told they’ll no longer have jobs after Friday.

Palmer Sunday

THE administrators of Queensland Nickel have sacked more than 550 workers at the refinery with employees told they’ll no longer have jobs after Friday.

A statement from voluntary administrators FTI Consulting said workers may be rehired.

“Queensland Nickel Sales Pty Ltd, the newly appointed manager of the refinery, may offer current employees of Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd employment but the administrators are currently unaware of the terms or timing of those offers.”

The administrators indicated that the decision was driven by Mr Palmer’s new company Queensland Nickel Sales taking over as manager of the operations at the Yabulu Refinery.

“As a result the administrators no longer have operational or management control of the Yabulu Refinery,” the statement said.

“The terminations of employment and uncertainty regarding the new offers is a deeply regrettable situation, although unavoidable given the administrators no longer have operational control of the refinery.”

Australian Workers’ Union state secretary Ben Swan told The Australian that the situation was “outrageous”, and that Mr Palmer’s Queensland Nickel Sales had effectively forced the administrators to make the workers redundant.

“Anyone who could come out and boast that he’s saved the refinery twice and then failed to act as he’s indicated he would, now seeing further loss of 550 jobs, needs to be treated with absolute suspicion,” Mr Swan said of Mr Palmer.

Mr Palmer’s Queensland Nickel Sales had said it would offer workers new employment contracts by the close of business by Thursday but this has not happened.

Queensland Nickel was placed into voluntary administration in January, just days after 237 workers were sacked.

Mr Palmer had been able to keep the refinery and associated Townsville Port facilities open by securing $23 million of funding.

Originally published as Workers at Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery have been terminated