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Union fights weather station job cuts

Tuesday October 7, 2008 - 10:00 EDT

A union is fighting plans to cut staff at the Mildura weather station in north-west Victoria.

There are five observers at the base at the Mildura Airport, but the bureau plans to reduce that to one as it rolls out new automated technology.

The national president of the Community and Public Sector Union, Louise Persse, says while automated technology can do some jobs, it cannot replace a trained person with experience in the local area.

"Particularly important in rural areas where those observations provide very important data for agricultural work and dealing with the impact of climate change and so forth, so we think it's a very problematic proposal," she said.

- ABC

© ABC 2008