. 4d wee A8 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 18, 2002 -TERRACE STANDARD Business REVIEW Sawmill talks collapse By JEFF NAGEL TALKS have collapsed between Skeena Cellulose and the IWA. “Fresh Start" agreement that would pave the..way..to..reopen -the-.. Terrace sawmill next spring, was close on all areas but. vacation pay. “We're let down today,” Skeena negotiator Doug Quinn ‘said Friday after talks -broke off, “We -really thought we. should get there :and worked hard to do it. But it’s not to be -— today:anyway”” He said the company will instead turn its attention’ to striking a deal with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers: union representing workers ‘al the Carnaby. sawmill. “We'll move on and negotiate elsewhere,” Quinn said. The IWA has. agreed to company demands for a 20-per cent wage roll- back, and they're close on contract- ing out and job flexibility. - But the company also wants. to cut vacations and vacation pay to the same levels agreed by pulp mill workers in Prince Rupert. That would mean the most senior workers here would get five weeks vacation. a year instead of the pre- sent seven. Quinn said more than 100 people at the sawmill have more than 15 years seniority. “It's a very costly item,” he said. IWA local 2171 president Darrel Wong agrees, adding the company’s proposal would take away large amounts of vacation pay. “It is a dramatic, dramatic change,” Wong said. “It could be anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 each per member per year.” The union was prepared to agree to the company proposal for the first three years of the contract, after which vacation provisions would re- vert back to coast-wide provisions. Quinn, however, noted that the called in April for - maintenance. two weeks a senior worker won't be on vacation will presumably be spent working — meaning regular pay in those two weeks will offset about half. the. loss in vacation pay. Wong. argues ‘the union has al- ready agreed to huge concessions. “The concessions we've put for- ward ‘would allow ‘the employer ta earn, more ‘money each year of. the collective agreement than ‘what they spent to: purchase the entire compa- ny,” he-said, referring to the $8 mil- lion paid for SCI by NWEC Timber and Pulp. - Wong ‘alsa said the sawmill isn’t . expected to start production until June 1, although Quinn says the expected. startup is May 1, with many workers re- The late date of startup may be the main issue, Quinn said. Unien mem- bers are receiving at least $225 a week strike pay from the IWA while there’s no agreement and the mill remains down. But if they sign, the strike pay ends. “They say ‘Look if we conclude the deal these people will no longer gel that money,” Quinn said. He said he’s tried to address that by offering to give union members extra money at intervals in the new year until the mill starts up. He said he’s agreed to a payout by Jan. 15 of $309,000 that Skeena owes sawmill workers here for ac- crued vacation pay. Quinn said he’d also arrange fur- ther advances on future profit sharing for workers in subsequent months — Doug Quinn LEASE FROM = $1,250 in February, $1,250 in March and $2,500 in June. “We just want ta get the show on the road,” Quinn said. Skeena needs to. cut total labour costs at this sawmill from a present $39 per hour to $29 per hour, he said, adding the company has insis- ted on the same proportion reduction everywhere. “We don’t want to find ourselves the first out of the marketplace when the markets get soft again. We are not going to do that.” Quinn said there was no counter- proposal from union officials, who he said advised him to pursue deals elsewhere, Quinn wants the union to put the company’s offer to a vate of the members ~ something IWA leaders refuse to do. “I’m not going to recommend to the membership what they proposed today,” Wong said. “It’s not accept- able and I told them that.” The company could still ask the Labour Relations Board to order o final offer vote on the package. Another issue is the expiry date of the six-year deal. The union wants it to end in June of 2008, but the company wants to make it December 2008. Wong said that would put the sawmill union at the same disad- vantage as this time — negotiating after a deal is presumably in place with the PPWC in Prince Rupert. “No disrespect to the PPWC, bul we're not going to agree to negotiate behind the PPWC in the future,” he said. “It hasn’t helped us.” Quinn was optimistic about talks with the CEP at Carnaby. “They have given us every indication in our early bargaining that they were lock- ing for the Fresh Start basis that _ Prince Rupert got.” What Has Santa Hopping For Glee? The prices he’s found on Simmons Beautyrest do not disturb and the New Generation Back Care No-Flip Beds! This season give yourself the gift of better sleep! Sleep Better Now! NO-NO-NO INTEREST, DOWN PAYMENT OR PAYMENTS ' FOR SIX MONTHS Even though our offices and call centres are closed on December 25, 26, and January 1, 2003, our emergency crews will be on hand 24 hours a day to keep your holiday bright. 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