The announcement made yesterday by the NSW State Government to halt 182 proposed job cuts highlights that through collective efforts from the Energy Unions and its members what the power of Unionism is all about!

This win comes as a result of sustained pressure placed on MP’s in regional areas affected by these proposed job cuts. That effort comes down to you all.

The USU worked tirelessly with the other Energy Unions through meetings with Essential Energy, meetings with members affected, industrially through the Fair Work Commission and meeting with key MP’s to assist in placing this matter in Parliament.

While this was going on union members were meeting with MP’s in their office to discuss the devastating impacts these job losses will have on them and their communities.

As you all know Essential Energy have announced that they will be reducing the workforce by 600 workers by 2024, from 3100 to 2500 employees. While this announcement halts the trance of 182 job cuts, no information has come forward regarding ongoing job cuts. This tells us that this fight is far from over!

The United Services Union will continue to work with the other Industry Unions to campaign to stop further job cuts and ensure that Essential Energy workers have safe and secure jobs.

Essential Energy have contacted the Energy Unions to meet and discuss where to from here following the announcement yesterday. We will provide you with further updates following the meeting on how this progresses.

We understand that this announcement generates a lot of questions particularly for members who had elected to take their redundancies and we need to understand how this will play out and provide answers for you.

The USU congratulates you on your efforts in this win.

This proves that Unity is Power!