AMWU: Copyright and mill jobs

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) is concerned about another threat to jobs at a paper mill in Tasmania's north west.

The Federal Government is considering whether to adopt a Productivity Commission recommendation to remove the copyright protection for Australian book printers.

Workers from the Australian Paper mill at Wesley Vale met with Federal Labor MPs yesterday to raise concerns about job losses if the government removes the copyright protection.

The mill employs 265 people and produces a type of coated paper for the book publishing industry.

AMWU representative Lorraine Cassin says if copyright protection is scrapped, it will allow large retailers to import American and UK editions in large volumes, instead of printing locally.

"They wouldn't bother using the Australian printers and so therefore they would tack it onto a big run that was overseas, rather than using the local printing market, which has a direct effect on the jobs which is what our main concern is obviously," she said.

"Both big book printers - McPhersons and Griffin Press - get the majority of their paper from Australia."

There are already concerns about job security at the Wesley Vale mill; Australian Paper is undertaking a review of the mill's operation.