Geelong
Friday, 5 December, 2014
Connecting people and communities
Phone: 5249 6700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808
Our global Christmas ASHLEY Coote and Teresa Seg are pictured playing inside a giant Christmas snow globe at central Geelong’s T&G building. Central Geelong Marketing has installed the globe for shoppers to take unique photos of themselves celebrating Christmas and the festive season. 131930 Picture: REG RYAN
MP ON JOB FOR UNION PROTEST P7
REP’S BARD HITS HIGH SPEED P24
350 told jobs gone days before Christmas
Yule be out of work
By NOEL MURPHY
INDY GUIDE TO SENIORS LIFE P32-38
ALCOA’S last 350 Geelong workers will face a bleak, uncertain Christmas when they farewell the aluminium plant after 51 years of operation in a fortnight. Alcoa’s rolled products division will close on 19 December. Production at Alcoa’s Point Hen-
ry smelter ended in August with the departure of 500 workers. The sackings will make for a unhappy Christmas despite sizeable separation packages for workers, many of whom have been long-term employees. But the redundancy payouts - on average around three weeks pay for every year of service will be cold comfort for workers
and their families as they face a difficult search for new jobs. “It’s going to be hard for the older guys, for all of them, to get new jobs in the Geelong area,� Australian Workers Union organiser Gavin Penn told the Independent. “The payouts will be be eaten up fairly quickly. I’m already getting calls from people asking
about fly-in/fly-out jobs. There are a few going round but the big thing is when you’re gone from the family for three weeks then home for a week and off again it can be a bit tough. “But people need to work. I know people from the smelter who have had to move to Queensland to work up there. “It’s the end of era but it’s
hard losing your job a week prior to Christmas.� Alcoa reviewed its Point Henry operations in 2012, finding no prospect of becoming financially viable. Last February it announced the closure of the smelter and rolling mill as well as a rolling mill in Yennora, New South Wales. Continued page 3
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