AUSTRALIA: Poor harvest leads to NSW Sugar laying off workers
Published: 07/25/2012, 7:49:07 AM
The poor sugar cane harvest expected this year in NSW is likely to affect the industry's seasonal workforce, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative estimates it will crush only one million metric tonnes of cane through its three mills this year, half the size of an average year.
Condong Mill's operations manager Greg Petersen says crushing has been limited to Monday to Friday and the season reduced to 20 weeks, but he's confirmed the jobs of permanent staff are safe.
"It's impacted on the number of shifts, so we're not crushing through weekends this season," he said.
"And it means a smaller season length overall as well compared to previous years.
"The intention is to maintain our full-time employees. Obviously each year there's a seasonal employment component, and at the end of the season, as normal, they'll be put off."