Union workers at Catalyst Paper Corporation’s BC operations have agreed to new five-year labour agreements.
The new contracts, which the company says will save $18 to $20 million annually, will go into effect at the expiry of the current contract on April 30, 2012. A majority of members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) at the company’s Crofton, Port Alberni and Powell River divisions, as well as Local 2 of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers Union of Canada (PPWC) at the Crofton pulp mill ratified the agreements.
The ratification for PPWC came two months after the union voted down the previous contract offer in January, a result that led to Catalyst filing for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
The new contracts, which will be in effect from May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2017, include a 10 per cent reduction in hourly rates along with adjustments to vacation, health benefits and work rules. The agreements maintain hourly retiree health benefits.
The workers had to make some tough decisions agreeing to a 10 per cent rollback in wages along with an approximately eight per cent cut in benefits, said Mike Verdiel, president of CEP Local 76 in Powell River. “This is good news for the community and hopefully it will help Catalyst emerge from CCAA,” he said.
Workers will see no wage increase in the second and third year, with a two per cent wage increase in the fourth and fifth year.
“Approval of the new labour agreements lets everyone know that the people who make up Catalyst are taking the actions necessary to save jobs and ensure we have a viable and competitive business for the future,” said Kevin Clarke, Catalyst president and CEO. “We appreciate there is still an enormous amount of work to do to complete the restructuring plan that will enable the company to exit creditor protection on solid footing going forward.”
