GUNNS Ltd is in the firing line of unions, which claim the company wants to rip off Tasmanians who build its proposed Bell Bay pulp mill.
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Gunns is refusing to comment on industrial negotiations it says are still under way.
Base wage rates appear the sticking point for striking a deal that would cover up to 3500 workers involved in constructing the $2.3 billion pulp mill.
Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union state secretary Nicole Wells said yesterday those negotiations broke down because Gunns would not match the base trade hourly rate offered on the mainland for major projects.
"We weren't looking at the highest mainland rate, we were more or less looking at the lowest," she said.
"To think we finally have a major project like this going ahead in Tasmania by a local company like Gunns, and they are trying to get it done on the cheap, is just a slap in the face."
A Gunns spokesman said the negotiations were "ongoing and incomplete".
He said the base wage rate already on the table was higher than the standard Tasmanian rate.
Unions Tasmania secretary Kevin Harkins said it would mean at least $5 an hour less for every Tasmanian worker, making industrial action likely.
"Gunns is putting this job creation project at risk with an indefensible wages position, a position that discriminates against Tasmanian workers," Mr Harkins said.
"Mainland construction workers aren't going to tolerate the lower wage rates."
Gunns must make a substantial start on the mill by the end of this month to meet the conditions of state construction permits.