Ipswich print plant to close

Andrew Martin, Brisbane

On August 16, Australian Provincial Newspapers (APN), Australia's largest regional newspaper publisher, announced that it will close the Queensland Times print facility in Ipswich and move the printing of the daily to Yandina on the Sunshine Coast. Nearly 30 permanent printing jobs and about 60 casual inserters' jobs will be lost.

While the QT workers had suspected that the company might scale back operations at Ipswich, the announcement came as a shock as there had been no consultation with the workers or their union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU). This was a clear breach of the company's enterprise agreement at the QT, which states that consultation with the union and the work force is required before any restructuring or redundancies.

When Queensland AMWU print division secretary Danny Dougherty contacted APN's general manager, Gary Osborne, on August 17, Osborne claimed that the union had not been contacted because he had lost the AMWU's phone number.

The company has offered to re-locate some employees to Yandina, but is giving priority to those on individual contracts. The only employee on a collective agreement to be offered a position at Yandina is an apprentice printer.

From GLW issue 681