An Oamaru woollen mill is giving staff a week’s extra holiday on full pay, as it struggles with a drop in orders.
Summit Wool Spinners was one of the first companies to sign up for the Government’s nine-day fortnight, but it is now looking to cut another 30 jobs.
The mill has been hit hard by the economic downturn.
North Otago’s second largest employer is struggling to keep workers busy. So it is giving 200 of them a week off – fully paid – to try and create a backlog of work for them to return to.
The plant will shut down for an eight day period.
The Engineering Union says the company’s dealing with the downturn in a sensible way.
“They’re wanting to hold their workforce together, they are very keen to keep their expertise and be there ready for when the market returns to normal,” says EPMU spokesman John Gardner.
In April, Summit laid off about 50 workers, before signing up to the Government’s nine-day fortnight scheme.
That prevents it from laying off further staff, although the company is now calling for up to 30 voluntary redundancies.
“They can’t compulsorily make people redundant while on this scheme, and it seemed prudent to open it up to voluntary redundancies at this time,” says Mr Gardner.
A boost in orders is needed in the second half of the year, before the plant can return to full time operation.
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