A14 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 18, 1997

GET WITH the program.
Skeena Cellulose mill workers here had for their
brothers in Prince Rupert. That's Mike Mac-
Dougall, leaving the Terrace mill after his shift.

That's the advice

Sawmill workers
brace for worst

FEAR AND ANGER are the main emotions of sawmill
workers here who wait for word on the fate of their jobs.

Skeena Cellulose workers on a shift change Friday were
upset the future of all the company’s operations are
primarily in the hands of unionized pulp mill workers in
Prince Rupert, who have been asked to cut 250 jobs there,

Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada Local 4 has
been hostile to the demand by the Royal and TD banks.

“Theyre overpriced, overpaid babies,” planer Mike
MacDougall said of the workers in Prince Rupert. ‘“These
guys have to see reality — they either have to slow down
or set all of B.C. off work.”’

Another worker who would not be named suggested
workers in Prince Rupert should ‘‘smarten up”

“Tt’s 1997, get with the program,”” said another.

Others are already bracing for an expected shutdown.
“Everyone’s hanging on, everyone's scared,”’ said one,

‘We're hoping that there is a light at the end of the tun-
nel, but they’re alrcady pulling machines out of the bush
— it doesn’t look good,’’ added MacDougall. a

Although anxious about the prospects, he had some
symapthy toward the pulp mill workers.

“The mill (workers) in Prince Rupert are doing the best
they can with what they have,” he said, adding it was ob-
vious that the banks want to shut down the company.

Time to

Pay, Say
bankers

THE ROYAL BANK and
the Toronto Dominion Bank
say they’ve paid their share
for Skeena Cellulose and
-i’s time for all other
participants to ante up.

As the fargest creditors,
owed $480 million, the two
banks became de facto
owners of Repap B.C. when .
it sought protection from its
creditors in March,

The banks last week
demanded the unions agree
to cut 250 jobs in Prince
Rupert and the province
kick in millions of dollars
for capital spending.

Employment and invest-
ment minister Dan Miller
says the situation of banks
requesting money from
government is unusual.

‘When government is ap-
proached, normally it’s by
conipanies in distress who
have no other way of ob-
taining finaneing,’? he said. .
“Now we're being ap- a
preached by the banks who
presumably have significant
resources,’”

Miller has said the govern-
ment will entertain loaning
money to keep the company
going, but says the province
wants security for that
money. He said he wasn’t
sure why the banks would
choose that oplion instead of
using (heir own money.

'There’s not been a direct
answer,’’ Miller said.

‘Tt's come to the. point
where we can’t finance the
mill alone withoul the multi-
party agreement to a viable
business — plan,’? ~~ Dan
Maceluch of the Royal Bank
said from Toronto. ‘‘We
just can’t go it alone any
longer.’’

Asked why the banks

couldu’t pay when they're
* eaming billions of dollars in
profits, Maceluch said:

“The point is, ‘that’s not,
our business, That's just not
banking, We “don’t take

FROM FRONT

Gov't, union cool on bank demands

The company won't set go lo
the next stage of working out con-
cessions with other contractors,
suppliers and municipal govern-
ments if there’s no deal with the
unions and province.

“If we can’t get beyond these

hurdles, fine-tuning a restructuring,

plan that involves other
stakeholders becomes academic,”’
Bowra said.

But he denied any ullimatuin is
being issued, however.

“There are no deadlincs,”’
said. “The fact of the-matter is the
company runs out of moncy sonic-

te

where: around (he 27th of June.”

“Without more money released, he
said, ‘the company will’ close the
pulp milf, all sawmills, and all log-
ging operations. Nearly 3,000 jobs
are at slake across the northwest.

The. company continues to lose:

money, Bowra said.

It lost $3.8 milfion in April, av

improvement from the first’ four
mouths of. the year, in which the
company lost a total of $34 million.

- Road work was halted” nearly two

weeks ago on orders from “the ©

banks. Skecna Cellulose has
cnough reads built to reach about

five. or six months worth of wood,

Bowra added. ‘Ideally it should be

about three times that,’’ he said.
The $278 ‘million “in capital’ ex-

-penditures the company wanls to
carry out consists-of $120 million

over three years for logging toad

- constriction and other: routine capi-

‘tal spending. -

The: remaining $158 million
would be-spent at the pulp mill in
Prince. Rupert. Replacement . of

“three boilers and a chlorine dioxide
~ gerierator is’ considered mandatory —

and would cost $74 million. Anoth-
er $84 million worth of improve-

ments would make operations more
efficient and-help cut the cost of
producing a tonne of pulp by an
estimated $90. ,

‘We are trying lo make Skeena
more ‘efficient’ and effective so it
can: compete on world markets,”
Bowra said.

‘The Rupert mill, which company
officials ‘say is the most inefficient
in B.C., requires 2.9 man-hours of
work to produce a tonne of pulp.

‘Bowra said the company wants to
reduce that figure to-1.9 man-hours
per tonne — making it among the
most efficient producers in B.C.

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He said the banks hope a
successful restructuring pro-
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the company back on ils feet
and attract a° long-term
buyer.Asked if It’s crucial .
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27, Maceluch was explicit:
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