Mr Redman told State Parliament yesterday that the mining group had offered 24 employment contracts to people in the Manjimup and Pemberton areas, with the majority of them former timber workers.
“Rio Tinto is recruiting workers for growing iron ore operations in the Pilbara and former timber employees are a good match - they are highly skilled and familiar with heavy haulage operations and strong safety cultures,” he said.
“Rio Tinto expects to recruit about 50 employees from the area during the next few months, with the prospect of more roles to follow as operations expand.
“The jobs are well-paid, which will inevitably flow into the local Manjimup economy, and employees are provided with a range of work and lifestyle options, making it attractive for them to stay based in the town.
“While the State Government focus remains on how Manjimup can create new jobs and opportunities locally, it is excellent to see these workers in demand.”
Earlier this year, Gunns Limited confirmed it was pulling out of the native timber industry and would close Deanmill - one half of its Manjimup operations - making 44 workers redundant.
About 15 to 20 of these workers were re-employed by other timber processors.
The Minister said the Government had been proactively involved from the start, providing support measures for impacted workers and small businesses. He regularly met with industry, relevant agencies, community leaders and Gunns itself.
“The State Government sought the involvement of these big companies and now we’re talking about solid job offers - not the meaningless talkfests favoured by Labor,” he said.
“I commend the community, including the shire and Chamber of Commerce, for its positive approach. They’re open to exploring different job and industry options available.”
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