Northern Pulp employees vote 52% in favour of new contract
June 14th, 2012 | Posted in Labour Negotiations | 3 comments »
52% of Northern Pulp‘s unionized employees voted in favour of their latest contract offer in Nova Scotia last night.
“It’s been a rough battle for everybody,” CEP Local 440 President Mark MacLaughlin said. “It’s nice to see it over. Hopefully this will secure our future for a while.”
The new contract covers a 7 year period and will see the workers take a 5% wage roll-back, changes to their vacation pay, a reduction in accident and sickness benefits, and there will be no raises in year 4 & 5 of the agreement.
Don Breen, Northern Pulp’s vice president, has said the company needs to reduce costs to be more competitive.
CEP national representative Don MacKenzie said one doesn’t have to look far to see examples of other pulp mills struggling. “You look all across the country,” he said. “We’re in tough times, and the members are really struggling with the transitions that are taking places in our workplaces and the cutbacks that are being imposed on us.”
Previously owned by Neenah Paper, then Blue Wolf Capital Management and Atlas Holdings, the Northern Pulp mill was sold to Paper Excellence Canada Holdings Corp. in May, 2011.
Read more:
Northern Pulp employees vote to accept contract (The News)
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One mill lowers its employee wages and benefits to a point where they’re lower than its competitor. The competitor then returns the favour and lowers its employee benefits and wages even more. It’s a vicious cycle with no end. And in the meantime, the corporate management continues to force-feed purple kool-aid to their employees telling them that their employees are their most valuable asset. I’ve heard it time and time again….what a crock of sh#t.
As I have said before, “The race to the bottom continues”. Soon all mill employee’s will be at minimum wage and the race will be over, by law we will not be able to screw ourselves no more. People have to realize there is life after the mill. Till someone stands up to these thiefs the race will go on.
So I imagine that if our CEP endorce this deal,this is the new pattern in the pulp sector?