Ergon Energy workers told of latest job cuts during floods

An extract from the Fraser Coast Chronicle Website:

31^st January 2013

ERGON Energy has conceded it was poor timing to hold a meeting with about 50 Maryborough workers on the latest round of job cuts as their colleagues were restoring power to flood victims.
The meeting, held yesterday, called for volunteer redundancies with about 50 jobs expected to be cut from Ergon's  frontline workforce across the state in this round.
Electrical Trades Union Wide Bay organizer Dan Bessell said potentially being made redundant was now something these workers had to worry about while they were helping to restore power in Bundaberg.
"It's just disgusting really," he said.
The workers were on their way to the city this morning to help repair the Bundaberg substation.
Ergon Energy spokesman Rod Rehbein said the staff who were at the meeting were not tasked with flood recovery at the time as they were substation experts.
He said no substations had been damaged on the Fraser Coast, while the Bundaberg substation was still underwater until this morning.
"We acknowledge it would have been better if the meeting had been postponed," he said.
Mr Rehbein said the meetings were at the request of the Electrical Trades Union.