Toe Knee Tiler
20th Nov 2010, 00:27
Boss spoils workers
Barry FitzGerald
November 20, 2010
THEY are a happy bunch at Clive Palmer’s Yabulu nickel refinery near Townsville. Certainly happier than they were when BHP Billiton owned the operation and rumors of its closure surfaced on a regular basis.
Mr Palmer acquired the then loss-making operation 16months ago and has turned around its performance, with productivity going through the roof, all with the help of widespread pay rises for the 800-strong workforce.
Mr Palmer has now taken the incentive-led recovery to new heights, announcing at Yabulu’s early Christmas party last night $10million in festive season rewards for the workers, assumed to be something of a record for a rank-and-file workforce.
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The best performed of the workers — and there are 55 of them — will get a Mercedes-Benz car. Then there are international holidays for 700 workers (each for two people to five-star resorts in Fiji) and 50 weekends to Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, presumably for the not so well-performed at the refinery, owned by Mr Palmer’s Queensland Nickel.
“The employees in Queensland Nickel have worked tirelessly since July 2009 to make this business a success and now I want to reward them,” Mr Palmer said.
“The rewards for my entire workforce match the performance of the individuals and the business in its entirety, that’s why the prizes are so big — they simply deserve it.
“This plant faced closure by BHP Billiton last year and it would have been a crushing blow to the workers and their families as well as the regional economy if it had shut down.
“But since we purchased the refinery it has gone from strength to strength and production is now going through the roof.”
Mr Palmer said an employee ideas program implemented at the plant had contributed about $16million in business savings in the first 12months of his ownership.
“The recipients range from fitters and electrical tradespeople to supervisors and engineers who have contributed to the business so strongly,” Mr Palmer said.
Mr Palmer made his fortune by selling iron ore interests in Western Australia to China. A powerful figure in the Liberal National Party in Queensland, Mr Palmer is also a fierce critic of the federal government’s mining tax.
And now TT's well trodden way.
As we mentioned in our communications earlier this week, our policy is to ensure that staff keep their jobs when times are bad, and get a share in the rewards when times are good.
Barry FitzGerald
November 20, 2010
THEY are a happy bunch at Clive Palmer’s Yabulu nickel refinery near Townsville. Certainly happier than they were when BHP Billiton owned the operation and rumors of its closure surfaced on a regular basis.
Mr Palmer acquired the then loss-making operation 16months ago and has turned around its performance, with productivity going through the roof, all with the help of widespread pay rises for the 800-strong workforce.
Mr Palmer has now taken the incentive-led recovery to new heights, announcing at Yabulu’s early Christmas party last night $10million in festive season rewards for the workers, assumed to be something of a record for a rank-and-file workforce.
Advertisement: Story continues below
The best performed of the workers — and there are 55 of them — will get a Mercedes-Benz car. Then there are international holidays for 700 workers (each for two people to five-star resorts in Fiji) and 50 weekends to Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, presumably for the not so well-performed at the refinery, owned by Mr Palmer’s Queensland Nickel.
“The employees in Queensland Nickel have worked tirelessly since July 2009 to make this business a success and now I want to reward them,” Mr Palmer said.
“The rewards for my entire workforce match the performance of the individuals and the business in its entirety, that’s why the prizes are so big — they simply deserve it.
“This plant faced closure by BHP Billiton last year and it would have been a crushing blow to the workers and their families as well as the regional economy if it had shut down.
“But since we purchased the refinery it has gone from strength to strength and production is now going through the roof.”
Mr Palmer said an employee ideas program implemented at the plant had contributed about $16million in business savings in the first 12months of his ownership.
“The recipients range from fitters and electrical tradespeople to supervisors and engineers who have contributed to the business so strongly,” Mr Palmer said.
Mr Palmer made his fortune by selling iron ore interests in Western Australia to China. A powerful figure in the Liberal National Party in Queensland, Mr Palmer is also a fierce critic of the federal government’s mining tax.
And now TT's well trodden way.
As we mentioned in our communications earlier this week, our policy is to ensure that staff keep their jobs when times are bad, and get a share in the rewards when times are good.