Corner Brook -
Despite asking unions for concessions and announcing downtime at another of its mills, Kruger says it is still planning to resume production at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper as scheduled next week.
The newsprint mill is in the midst of a two-week shutdown, which commenced Oct. 12. The two machines still operating in the mill are to resume making paper Oct. 26.
Since the shutdown, unions at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper have met with the company, which has asked for undisclosed concessions in light of the woeful economic conditions affecting the industry. The unions have told the mill they are willing to discuss some of the concessions proposed, while other suggested ways to reduce the company's costs were not going to be considered by the employees.
At its paper mill in Trois Rivieres, Que., Kruger has apparently asked its employees to take a temporary wage cut, with a promise to eventually return the savings realized during the specified period to the workers, who would also have their original wage rates restored.
Meanwhile, Kruger announced downtime at its Brompton mill in Quebec earlier this week.
With the value of the Canadian dollar continuing to be strong against the American currency - one of the major factors negatively affecting the bottom line of exporting companies like Kruger's newsprint mills, there is uncertainty about the future of any paper mill these days.
When asked if any of the latest developments concerning the Brompton mill and the Canadian dollar's performance has changed the status of the Corner Brook mill's resumption of production, Kruger confirmed Tuesday that it has not and the mill is still scheduled to start back up Monday.
The Western Star
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