Catalyst asking its most senior employees to take 45% cut in wages, benefits at Elk Falls pulp and paper mill in Campbell River, British Columbia, says local CEP president

Dec 24, 2009 — Alberni Valley Times
By QUINTIN WINKS

PORT ALBERNI, British Columbia, December 24, 2009 (Alberni Valley Times) — An effort by Catalyst Paper to renegotiate wages and benefits with its employees has some people seeing a bleak future for the new year, though not necessarily for Port Alberni.

According to Doug Ellis, president of Local 630 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworker's Union of Canada, the company is asking the most senior employees to take a 45% cut in wages and benefits at its Elk Falls plant. But there's no guarantee the plant will restart after being shut down in February, said Catalyst spokeswoman Lynn Brown. She didn't know too much detail about the wage offer, but said the company meets regularly with wage delegates from all union locals.

One of the topics discussed at the last meeting "was the state of the industry and maybe in the context of that discussion there may have been some discussion around the proposal that would put forward a revised compensation structure around Elk Falls in support of what it would take to be competitive," Brown said. "That revised compensation structuring included profit sharing for hourly workers. So far the locals have not been willing to put it forward to members to consider it."

While Brown talks profit sharing, Ellis said he was told wages would be frozen until April 30, 2014, at a 20% reduction from May 1, 2009, levels. The pay rate for labour will be reduced to $20.50 an hour. Floating holidays will go from five days to two and maximum holidays from seven weeks to four weeks.

"We all work 12-hour shifts, so we would lose another week because they go to 48-hour blocks," Ellis said. "Employer pension contributions will be reduced to 6%. That knocks us out of the provincial pension fund for CEP and then the bridge benefit is eliminated, health and welfare all 50/50."

What that all means to Ellis is that the Elk Falls Mill is unlikely to reopen. He said the company is setting itself up to shut the mill by moving leachate to the municipal landfill and distancing itself from the adjacent co-generation plant.

"So everything they're doing tells me they don't need the product," Ellis said. "Port Alberni is in a bit of a different boat because they have the coated machine. But from listening to [Catalyst president Richard Garneau], I would say the mill in the biggest trouble is Crofton. They're shutting all three machines down tomorrow for the holiday at Crofton. No. 1 is staying down indefinitely."

Calls to CEP local representatives in Port Alberni were not returned.

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