Australian Paper and the union
After the AMWU agreed to a wage freeze and reduced hours between Australian Paper’s maintenance workers in March 2016, now the CFMEU has also agreed to accept a pay cut of $100 a week for its workers. The unions and its members agreed to the backwards moves in order to help the company which is obviously still in financial strife after 4 years of losses.
The CFMEU also wants the Federal government to pledge to only buy AP’s paper, not the cheaper imports.
AP has been responsible for the endless clearfelling of the Central Highlands Ash forests and the decline on the critically endangered Leadbeaters Possum – Victoria’s faunal emblem. The ash forests have been chipped and pulped to make the Reflex brand of paper which has been targeted in an Ethical Paper campaign.