CORNER BROOK, N.L. — Union leaders and the City of Corner Brook aren’t panicking over upcoming changes at the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper mill.
Late last week, the company confirmed the mill is set to shut down its operations for 14 days, starting Christmas Eve.
Around 365 workers – about 300 in the mill and another 65 in the forest operations – will be affected by the shutdown.
The company will resume newsprint production Jan 6.
It also announced that 22 of its workers will be reassigned to the casual pool, although the company said these workers will still get full-time employment.
"...we’re gonna have to weather it the best we can and move on from there." — Paul Humber
Paul Humber is president of Unifor Local 242, the union that represents papermakers at the mill.
He told The Western Star he understood why the company had to make the decisions it did.
“Until the market adjusts to the decrease in the demand for paper, the price will stay low and, of course, that puts challenges on everybody,” he said. “I understand their position and we understand there are tough times there now and we understand why. They want to keep this mill viable and we want to keep it viable too because we want to have a job and continue to produce paper and jobs here in this city.”
Humber feels the mill remains well-positioned in the marketplace and isn’t concerned about its long-term future, despite the company also saying there may be more downtime in the coming months.
While the production curtailment is temporary, the company said, depending on forthcoming newsprint market conditions it could eventually interrupt its production temporarily during the coming winter in order to restore balance in its order book.
“It is what it is, we’re gonna have to weather it the best we can and move on from there,” commented Humber.
Of the 22 jobs reassigned to the casual pool, Local 242 lost six. Four jobs were on the machines and two were in the clothing crew, said Humber.
He was aware that Locals 64, 57 and 58 had also took cuts.
Humber said he doesn’t expect any more job cuts.
Corner Brook Mayor Jim Parsons said the city feels for the workers in the short-term, but he does not anticipate any long-term issues for the mill.
“It seems that paper prices are down and this is a very specific reaction to deal with that, but Kruger is continuing to invest in the mill,” he told The Western Star. “Over the last couple years, they’ve invested over $20 million in its operations here. All indications are, based on the investments from Kruger, that the mill is in good shape for the long run.”
The woodlands operations and Deer Lake Power are not affected by the company's labour force restructuring plan.
