Timber workers in limbo after contracts shredded by VicForests
A sudden decision to revoke timber orders has left dozens of workers in eastern Victoria without jobs and uncertain of the future after the summer’s devastating bushfires.
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Almost 100 timber harvesters in eastern Victoria are facing an uncertain future after their contracts were terminated amid devastating bushfires.
The sudden decision to revoke timber orders has left dozens of workers without a job, and some contractors fear for their financial future due to large debts linked to machinery leases.
The Herald Sun can reveal VicForests, which manages the amount of timber available for logging and associated contracts, wrote to 10 harvesters who are in bushfire-affected areas saying it was able to break agreements due to this summer’s disaster.
It is understood about 90 staff are employed by the contractors.
Each harvester employs staff to help cut down and haul trees to mills, which also rely on that timber to run their businesses.
This would allow the state-run agency to avoid any compensation for failing to deliver on timber promised.
However, it is understood the letters contained little detail about when the situation would be resolved, and has angered local communities in areas like Bairnsdale and Orbost that are already worried about economic downturns.
“This is the start of the end,” one worker said.
Many contractors have been helping battle blazes in the region, with their machinery a vital part of the firefighting effort.
A VicForests spokesman said it would “strive to maximise opportunities for work” for the contractors, including short-term jobs to build fire breaks and clear roads.
“We feel for the predicament of contractors and are helping them in every way possible,” the spokesman said.
A government spokesman said: “The fires have had a devastating impact in East Gippsland and we urge VicForests to continue to do all that it can to support contractors who have lost work.”
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Premier Daniel Andrews said last month that 40 per cent of logging coupes approved for this year had been burned in the bushfires.
Earlier this week, Mr Andrews said assessments were continuing on other affected areas.
“I don’t think it’s a certainty at all that coupes that were forecast to be logged will be. The fire impact is still being assessed,” he said.
The fresh crisis for timber businesses comes amid anger over the way the Andrews Government is handling its plan to phase out native timber logging by 2030.
Little detail has been provided about the plan, which would also reduce native timber available for logging from the middle of this decade.