Elk Falls restart dependant on concessions

Workers of Catalyst Paper's Elk Falls mill in British Columbia are being told to accept wage concessions, or their mill will never restart.

Elk Falls has been idle for 15 months. Catalyst Paper, as part of its post-recession plan, would like to restart the mill, but at a reduced level with 250 employees. The plan would see the mill making specialty paper on the mill's oldest and smallest machines.

Catalyst Paper is proposing a 5 year agreement with a base rate of $20.50 an hour and a profit-sharing plan of up to $15,000 per employee per year IF Catalyst returns to profitability.

The union leadership (CEP) rejected a similar wage cut last fall saying it would be a 40-45% cut from their existing contract. Since then, more than half of Elk Falls' workers have taken severance packages.

Catalyst Paper wants the remaining 250 workers to vote on the offer, with insistence that the company wants the mill back in operation before the middle of June.

"We monitor very closely how the retailers are doing in the U.S. and in the last four or five months we've seen an improvement in their business," said president and CEO Richard Garneau. "Their requirement for print material is going up. Normally the end of the third quarter and the fourth quarter are really strong on the specialty grades. It's back-to-school. It's the holidays. It's when the retailers spend a lot of money on print advertising. If we miss this window, it's going to be too late. So now is the time."

Catalyst Paper also is requesting a tax cut from the city of Campbell River.

Source:

Elk Falls mill seeks concessions - Campbell River and workers asked to contribute