NSW: Electricity plan bad for workers and consumers - unions

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2007
NSW: Electricity plan bad for workers and consumers - unions

SYDNEY, Dec 10 AAP - A NSW government plan to privatise parts of the state's power
industry is bad for electricity workers and consumers, unions say.

But business groups have praised the move as ensuring the state's future energy needs.

NSW Premier Morris Iemma today announced the government would sell off its state-owned
electricity retailers and enter into lease agreements over its generators in a major shake-up
of the electricity industry.

The move would save taxpayers up to $15 billion over the next 10 to 15 years, and at
the same time ensure the state's electricity supply and reliability, he said.

But Unions NSW secretary John Robertson criticised the plan, saying it would be bad
for workers in the industry, and for consumers who would be hit by higher prices.

"The unions remain opposed to the government's proposal for privatisation - firstly,
because we don't believe it is good for working families as consumers in NSW, secondly
because it is not good for the workers in the industry, and thirdly, this is a government
that has no mandate for privatisation of electricity in NSW," he said.

Mr Robertson said a government sweetener to the unions, which guaranteed energy workers
an average payment of $40,000 as part of the privatisation, was a carrot meant to cloud
workers' thinking on the changes.

"The $40,000 is about clouding people's judgments about what is in their best long-term
interests," he said.

"Whilst it looks good on paper, the reality is that this is an industry that people
are going to rely on for the rest of their lives, either as workers or as consumers.

"We're saying to people, don't rush to any conclusions."

Mr Robertson said the unions held fears prices would also rise, hurting workers.

"If you look at what has happened globally, and if you look at what happened two weeks
ago in Victoria where consumers were hit with an increase of 17 per cent, we have grave
concerns about the impact that is going to have on working families in NSW," he said.

"There is a whole series of issues that have got to be tested ... (such as) the prices
that people will be expected to pay for their electricity bills as they go forward, not
in five years, but in 10 and 15 years."

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KEYWORD: ELECTRICITY REAX

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