Candidate's advice for sacked workers

Bethany Camac.

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SHE represents the Christian Democratic Party in the upcoming Clarence by-election and happens to be the personnel officer who signed a letter to abattoir workers telling them they no longer had jobs in Grafton.

Asked what she could do for displaced meat workers as a Clarence representative, Bethany Camac admitted she wouldn't be able to do much except encourage investment in the area.

"If they don't want to take up the job offer at Casino and sit around and whinge they can sit around and whinge, if they want to get off their bums and get a new job they can do that," she said.

Ms Camac said all workers, including herself, at the South Grafton site had been "offered" jobs at the Northern Co-operative Meat Company in Casino and "there should be enough jobs for everyone".

"Stuart Ramsey has not taken his business outside the electorate of Clarence, he's moved it from Grafton to Casino."

But reports on ABC North Coast yesterday quoted Northern Co-operative Meat Company management as saying there was no transfer of business between Ramsey Food Processing and the Co-operative.

Workers told The Examiner earlier this week they had been informed by Ramsey that they're entitlements would be transferred if they took up jobs at Casino but subsequent inquiries had proven this to be false.

Ms Camac said yesterday she was still under the impression that workers' entitlements would be transferred to the NCMC along with their employment.

In her letter to workers she said: "Subject to completing the necessary application and passing the health checks, employees commencing with the most senior shall be offered continuing employment at Casino."

"Alternatively, you may choose to resign your employment," she wrote.

Ms Camac, who attracted 822 votes (or 1.8 per cent) in her first tilt at Clarence in March, said she was pleased that anyone voted for her at all and hoped to improve on the result. She lists "support the interests of small business and industry" as one of the things she will fight for on her CDP website. She told The Examiner yesterday she wished to address the imbalance of road quality between the Summerland Way and the Orara Way.

Ms Camac said she hadn't yet decided if she would transfer to Casino for work, but she had been informed there was a job there for her.