The Fiji Sugar Corporation has offered redundancy packages to 104 Penang Mill workers.

After the ravage of Cyclone Winston in 2016, FSC closed the Rakiraki Mill and redeployed its personnel into the Rarawai and Lautoka Mills.

FSC CEO Graham Clark says after almost three years of absorbing the Penang Mill employees into two of their other mills, they now have the opportunity to either become permanent workers or take a redundancy package.

One of the provisions in the Employment Relations Act (ERA 3007) in regards to redundancy is that the employer makes every effort to try and find alternative employment for Employees whose position is being made redundant.

FSC served the notice last week which will expire at the end of August.

Management is also looking at alternative employment where possible.

Clark says some employees have indicated their intention to stay on and if they do, new contracts will be drawn up, however, others will receive redundancy packages.

The redundancy package includes a 4 months’ notice period that the employees will work or be paid in lieu of notice, plus a three-month severance pay and a payment of two weeks for every year worked.

Clark says FSC has managed to identify ten roles for potentially ten employees with more possible in the coming months.

Employee letters were handed out this week to the Penang Mill workers.