Timber industry says Safe Work formaldehyde plan will cost jobs

A plan to cut worker exposure to a popular glue has been flagged by the nation’s workplace safety watchdog but timber giants say it stinks of job cuts and overseas imports. Here's why.

Laminex operations manager is one of several timber industry experts who are calling on Safe Work Australia to change its plan to drastically cut acceptable exposure levels to a popular wood glue to the most stringent levels in the world, saying it will cost jobs and lead to the market being flooded with imported, unregulated products instead..

A proposal to cut exposure levels of a popular timber glue in the name of worker safety has been met with resistance from industry experts who say the plan will cost jobs.

Safe Work Australia has proposed drastically slashing the acceptable time workers can be exposed to formaldehyde – a move which would enforce the “most stringent limits in the world”.

Formaldehyde glues are used in pressed and combined timber products.

The current time weighted average exposure limit in Australia is 1 part per million.

SWA has proposed it be cut to 0.1 ppm to protect workers from eye irritation and the possibility of developing respiratory cancer later in life.

Laminex operations manager Scott Beckett said if passed in its proposed form, the plan would lead to job losses of about 30 per cent across the industry.

Mr Beckett said Laminex would have to take a look at the costs of running its Monkland plant if SWA proposal to cut exposure levels from 1 ppm to 0.1 ppm is passed.

The company’s factory at Monkland in Gympie was one which would be heavily affected.

“We’ll have to have a serious look at (the costs),” Mr Beckett said.

Laminex would have to outlay a significant amount to bring the factory, taken over from Carter Holt Harvey in 2019 and a reliant on older technology, in line with the proposed regulation.

Making such a drastic cut would create a gap in the country’s timber market too, he said.

This would be filled by wood imported from countries like China where formaldehyde exposure was unregulated.

Hyne Timber, which opened a new laminate factory at Maryborough in 2020, said it had “serious concerns” over the proposed cut and joined the chorus of calls for it to be reconsidered.

Mr Beckett said there was “no way we’re not committed to provide better, safe work places for staff” but the proposal on the table was a stretch too far.

He supported a counter proposal by the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia to cut the level to 0.5 ppm and implement the change over three years.

The EWPAA’s counter proposal says this would put Australian on par with other world leading regulated countries.

It said Sweden and Austria’s levels were set at 0.3 ppm, and France was 0.5 ppm.

In comparison, the United Kingdom’s level was 2 ppm, and China, Thailand and Malaysia had no limit at all.

An SWA spokeswoman said the proposal was still with Safe Australia members for consideration.

“No decision has been made,” she said.

Mr Beckett’s concerns were shared by Hyne Timber, which opened a new multimillion-dollar timber laminate factory at Maryborough in August 2020.

Timber Queensland CEO Mick Stephens says the regulator has “doggedly” tried to push through a “ridiculously” low exposure level. Safe Work Australia said no final decision has been made.

“Hyne Timber has serious concerns over the immeasurable formaldehyde exposure standard being proposed by Safe Work Australia including the lack of science underpinning the proposal,” a Hyne spokeswoman said.

“We have raised these concerns with the Queensland Government and look forward to working constructively on a safe, measurable, science based outcome.”

Timber Queensland CEO Mick Stephens said the peak body had “serious concerns” about the proposed cut.

“The regulator has simply ignored the underpinning science and detailed technical input from industry and doggedly tried to push through a ridiculously low level,” Mr Stephens said,

“The limits being proposed are likely to be undetectable given naturally occurring background levels, highlighting the absurdity of the proposal.”

State opposition spokesman for agriculture Tony Perrett said the change would have significant impacts on the timber industry, which was a big part of the Gympie and Maryborough economies.

The seeming lack of concern about the economic and social impacts of the change on the timber industry was “equally concerning”.

“If implemented in its current form, the proposal could cost hundreds of jobs in the Gympie and Maryborough areas alone and risk the closure of local wood processing businesses.

“We are simply asking the regulator to adopt a reasonable limit underpinned by the relevant science.

“The current proposal is inconsistent with limits set by other world leading economies.

“We are dismayed by the lack of transparency and accountability in their decision making to date.”

State Opposition spokesman for agriculture Tony Perrett said the change could have “immense consequences for the industry in Gympie” and had to be “handled correctly”.

State industrial relations Minister Grace Grace said the government was committed to ensuring worker safety and any changes had to be based on solid evidence. Photo Steve Pohlner

“The flow on impacts can be significant,” Mr Perrett said.

“These are manufacturing jobs which flow from our timber industry.

“These are regional jobs which are under threat.

“Major investment has been made in local businesses such as Laminex which has increased employment at the factory.

“We cannot afford to lose that.”

He urged the Queensland State Government to realise the “ the full consequences of this proposal for our timber industry and throughout the state”.

Industrial relations Minister Grace Grace said the government was committed to ensuring the highest standard of safety for Australia’s workers and “any changes to exposure standards are based on solid evidence”.

“We are committed to working with industry, unions and SWA to ensure any changes to the exposure standard strikes the right balance between protecting workers and ensuring sustainability of the industry,” she said.