TEN staff at a Ballarat manufacturing company specialising in building firefighter trucks are set to lose their jobs as early as this week.
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SEM Fire and Rescue general manager Colin Baldock confirmed to The Courier they had called for voluntary redundancies from its 80 staff members.
Mr Baldock said the job cuts were caused by a discontinuation of a CFA order.
“All the state governments have reduced their spending on emergencies services,” Mr Baldock said.
“Following discussions earlier in the year with CFA we were expecting continuation of the orders but that hasn’t happened.
“So we are ... altering our business to suit the work that we are expecting to see in the next financial year.”
Mr Baldock wouldn’t comment if more job cuts were expected, however, he said the future of SEM was not at stake.
A CFA spokeswoman said over the past two years Victorian manufacturers had shared in one of the strongest-ever periods of investment in trucks, the majority built in Victoria.
“A $59.09 million has been invested in 179 frontline and support vehicles,” she said.
“This includes $42 million to manufacture 124 medium tankers, 89 of which were built at Ballarat and Sunshine.
“CFA employs a competitive tendering system between several manufacturers, which ensures the best value for the significant investment CFA makes on behalf of Victorian taxpayers.”
Ballarat MP Sharon Knight called for more support of manufacturing in Ballarat.
“The workers at SEM do great work and supply high quality firefighting vehicles that are needed by fire brigades across Victoria,” Ms Knight said.
“Premier Napthine must step in to secure the high skill manufacturing jobs at SEM.”
State Minister for Emergency Services Kim Wells said that union claims of job and budget cuts were false.
“False union claims of CFA job and budget cuts are in stark contrast to the Coalition government’s delivery record – the roll-out of 179 new CFA trucks since coming to office and the continuation of upgrading or replacing 250 CFA stations,” Mr Wells said.
United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall said any job losses would hit the Ballarat economy hard.
neelima.choahan@fairfaxmedia.com.au
