Standing outside Australia’s only manganese smelter, Mikayla Binns says the prospect of having to find a new job gives her “massive anxiety and stress”.
Ms Binns is a fourth-year apprentice boilermaker and one of nearly 200 workers at the Liberty Bell Bay (LBB) smelter whose pay is set to dry up next Friday.
“Everyone behind me says I will be fine, but I don’t think I will be — that’s why I want to stay here,” Ms Binns said.
“I try not to think about it too much, but deep down it gives me massive anxiety and stress thinking about having to go to another job, where I don’t have a lot of experience.”
Union members from the Liberty Bell Bay smelter pictured outside the facility after a meeting about their futures. (ABC News: Kelsey Reid)
The workforce, based in Tasmania’s north, are calling on the Tasmanian government and the Commonwealth to lock in their salaries for the next couple of months.
They want the governments to provide the fortnightly payroll of about $1.6 million until a buyer is locked in for the site, which is hoped to occur in the next six weeks.
John Dusautoy has been at the smelter for nearly four decades. (ABC News: Kelsey Reid)
John Dusautoy, who has worked at the George Town smelter for nearly four decades, said the message workers received yesterday about losing future pay “really hit home”.
“The administrators are doing all they can, the management are doing all they can, the disheartening part is I think the governments need to step up and help,” Mr Dusautoy said.
“This plant has been fantastic for my family (and) I just want the opportunity for the people standing behind me to have the same story as I’ve got.”
The smelter is currently under administration, and workers were told yesterday there was not enough money to pay the majority of employees after the current pay cycle, which ends on April 24.
They were told they could either take leave without pay from then, or be made redundant.
It is hoped a new buyer for the smelter can be found. (ABC News)
State seeks federal support for funding package
Nick Duigan, who is Tasmania’s Minister for Energy and Renewables, said the state government was working on a support package for the LBB workers.
He said the package would need to be provided in conjunction with the federal government, which has previously provided bailouts to smelters on the mainland.
“We would see a role for state government and absolutely, definitely the federal government to provide some support … to make sure those workers get paid,” Mr Duigan said.
“It’s early days and … we would be calling on the federal government to support the state, noting the federal government has stepped in in other states around the country.”
The members were addressed by union officials today. (ABC News: Kelsey Reid)
A spokesperson for federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres said the Commonwealth would work with the state government to ensure workers and local suppliers are supported.
“Our priority is the community and keeping workers and their families supported and informed as the situation progresses,” they said.
LBB was placed into voluntary administration in March, after its parent company GFG Alliance failed to lodge financial statements for five years.
External administrators Ernst and Young, funded by White Oak Commercial Finance, have since pursued a rapid sales process for the smelter.
Mr Duigan said keeping the smelter’s workforce in place would be vital to ensuring a buyer was found.
“It’s really critical we understand for the ongoing sale of Liberty Bell Bay as a viable, ongoing business, that the workforce is critical,” Mr Duigan said.
“We understand there are legitimate buyers who are interested in Liberty Bell Bay and we want to keep that process alive.”
The spokesperson for Mr Ayres said the workers were a “core part of the value of that sale” and must be “recognised and treated as such”.
Bailout ‘small’ compared to others, union says
In recent years, the federal government has provided significant funding packages to help keep major smelters afloat on the mainland.
This includes a $2 billion bailout for Rio Tinto’s Boyne aluminium smelter, a $135 million package for the Nyrstar smelter in Port Pirie, and a deal to keep the Tomago aluminium smelter in the Hunter Valley operational.
Chris Clark from the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union said the support being sought for the Tasmanian smelter was reasonable.
“What’s being asked for is small when you compare it to what other support has been offered around the nation for enterprises of a similar nature,” Mr Clark said.
“There’s no reason these workers should be hung out to dry, when the support that’s being asked for it very fair and reasonable.”
LBB is the only smelter in Australia that can process manganese alloy, which is used in steelmaking.
Smelter vital for sovereign capabilities, senator says
Liberal senator for Tasmania, Jonno Duniam, said keeping the smelter running was vital for preserving the nation’s sovereign capabilities.
“The government say they want to build sovereign capability, they want a future built In Australia — well, this is where it starts,” he said.
“We need (LBB) for advanced manufacturing, we need it for AUKUS, we need it to do the things that it needs to do, and we need to keep those jobs here.
“Because once they’re gone and once this smelter shuts down, if that happens, then it’s never coming back, and we as a country are lost as a result of it.”
Labor leader Josh Willie with deputy leader Janie Finlay at the Liberty Bell Bay smelter today. (ABC News: Kelsey Reid)
Tasmanian Labor leader Josh Willie said the LBB workers deserved to be recognised for the contribution they were making to the state’s economy.
“This smelter is critically important to putting food on the table of families and paying bills, and we’re in a cost-of-living crisis,” Mr Willie said.
“The bridging costs, shared with the federal government, are far less than the cost to the community and the economy if this smelter closes.”