The future of 150 jobless miners was discussed at a meeting at Stawell between Western Victoria MP Jaala Pulford, Northern Grampians Shire Council and Stawell Gold Mines representatives on Thursday.
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The discussion came after Stawell Gold Mines announced on Tuesday they would be moving into a care and maintenance mode, causing 150 jobs to be made redundant as of Friday.
Ms Pulford said it was a devastating blow for the 150 affected families in the community.
“This is terrible news on any day of the year, and it is a particularly bitter pill to swallow only two weeks before Christmas,” she said.
Ms Pulford assured Thursday’s meeting was positive and said an outline of a new regulatory process will be made available by the year’s end.
“Implementing the process will take between 12 to 18 months, but a really thorough process that responds to all of the Big Hill mine concerns that existed in 2014,” she said.
“We want people to stay in the community, this is where their kids go to school, their families are based and that is why we are focusing our efforts on making sure there are opportunities available for employment, be it in mining, agriculture or tourism.”
Northern Grampians Shire mayor Tony Driscoll said workers who had lost their jobs at the mine were the fabric of the Stawell community.
“They are the fire brigade captain, our school board executives, all our volunteer bases, they are the heart and soul of our community,” he said.
“We look at the enormity and say 150 jobs, but if you break it down to five or 10 jobs here, another 15 jobs here and all of a sudden the problem does not look as big.
“We cannot promise 150 jobs at once but one bite at a time we will fix the problem and that is what we are trying to assure our people.”
Ms Pulford was “pleasantly surprised” when companies in the area had expressed interest in providing work to Stawell Gold Mines employees.
“Companies in and around Stawell have responded to this week’s news by picking up the phone and being interested to know who was available,” she said.
Stawell Gold Mines general manager Troy Cole assured employees they would receive their full entitlements and would be provided with support services including financial advice, resume writing and outplacement support.
“We understand suspending underground operations and the subsequent loss of employment opportunities will have an economic impact on Stawell and the surrounding region and we will work with authorities to mitigate this impact where possible,” he said.
A Stawell Gold Mines employee, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the announcement came as a shock to everyone.
“There was no indication that this was going to happen, not even at the company Christmas picnic on Saturday where some employees were even celebrating their 30 year anniversaries with Stawell Gold Mines,” they said.
“We feel like we are nothing, we are merely a number.
“The mining industry has been very insecure for three or four years now and it will have a massive impact on Stawell.”
The employee said they drove to Stawell Gold Mines on Tuesday morning to begin a normal rostered shift when they were greeted by security and a locked gate.
“The security member gave us a piece of paper saying all employees had to meet at the Stawell Clay Target Club for a meeting.”
Union officer Mr MacGregor said the redundancies would cause a lot of friction in the affected households.
“It is a big part of their lives that will now go missing,” he said.
”In 2012 Stawell Gold Mines announced a full closure and managed to resurrect themselves, but now the boom has dropped and there is nowhere else in town like this company.”
Mallee MP Andrew Broad said the job losses would be felt directly by both employees at the mine and those who worked in allied businesses.
“I hope that with the help of Regional Development Victoria, employment-generating projects can be fast tracked, in terms of the tyre recycling plant and the proposed horticultural developments,” he said.