Ontario Community Newspapers

Terrace Bay News, 3 Sep 1986, p. 5

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~ Terrace Bay-Schreiber News, Wednesday, September 3, 1986, page 5 Lavallet addresses K-C Mill employees in letter (On August 25, a letter was sent out to all local Kimberly-Clark employees by K-C Canada President Jack Lavallet on the same day as his announcement regarding the lay-off of 255 employees by the company, plus 100 temporary work- rs. As this is of interest to all area residents, the News is publishing the let- ter in full below, as a public service.) Dear ------ i As you no doubt have heard by now, we have had to take the drastic mesure of laying off 76 salaried mill and woodlands em- ployees as well as 179 hourly mill and woodlands employees. The jobs of all temp- orary employees are also being eliminated. Lay-offs of hourly mill employees will be determined by a joint union-management comniittee in accordance with a lay-off policy for- mulated by both groups in 1956. These employees will be notified as soon as possible. In addition, we plan to suspend our woodlands operations for a two-month period, beginning Tuesday, September 2, 1986, in order to reduce wood in- ventory. Further action will be considered in the new year, depending on wood requirements at that time. We want you to know that these steps were not taken without considerable agonizing on our part and only after an exhaustive study had been made of our- problems and prospects. It is, in effect, our survival plan. The problem, quite simply, is that our Pulp and ~ Forest Products Operations have been losing substan- tial amounts of money for a number of years--$78 million in total since 1978 and $17 million in the past year alone. This has been due prim- arily to the continuing depressed prices of pulp in world markets as a result of Over-capacity and over- supply in the industry in Canada and the lower cost of our competitors abroad in acquiring and harvesting fiber and producing pulp. This situation has been made even worse by in- creased consumer demand for competitive types of pulp. Obviously, this cannot continue. We either have to find a solution or face the prospect of closing down, eliminating 1,800 jobs and, in effect, destroying the economy. of this part of Northwestern Ontario. We recognize the ex- treme hardship a decision such as this can impose and with this in mind, we have offered--to the extent that our financial resources allow--a generous sever- ance and retirement pack- age to help ease the effect on the communities of which we are proud to have been a part for nearly 40 years. We want you to know that all employees being laid off will be treated fair- ly and justly--in most cases far beyond the legal re- quirements. A major effort will be made to assist them in finding other employ- ment and to provide couns- elling on such matters as job search, benefit plans, pensions, unemploy- ment insurance and the like. A job placement com- mittee, comprised of com- pany, union and govern- ment representatives, will be set up immediately and a job centre established on the mill site to provide secretarial and financial counselling assistance. In addition to the num- ber of employees who will be laid off, we will be of- fering early retirement to salaried employees age 55 and over and mill hourly employees age 57 and over. A total of 109 em- ployees are eligible for this benefit which will include extended Ontario Health Insurance and Company Health Care Plan coverage. Under this program, eligible employees will receive an improved pen- sion benefit, including a special monthly supple- ment. In many cases, this means that employees will be offered a pension equal to what they would receive if they had worked until the age of 65. While we believe our plan will enable the mill to operate more efficiently, we must now turn our at- tention to woodlands costs. As indicated above, we have made a start by reduc- ing and suspending our harvesting operations for the next two months--but much more needs to be done. Only when we have reduced these costs will we feel confident that we have a secure operation. We thank you for your loyalty--now and in the past--and actively seek your support to reach our mutually-beneficial goal of making our operation one of the best in North America. Yours sincerely, J. L. Lavallet President Ducks Unlimited Canada Terrace Bay/ Schreiber Committee BANQUET & AUCTION Friday, September 5, 1986 Schreiber Recreation Complex Minneapolis Vaction - sponsored by Austin Airways. Limited edition framed prints, commemorative Beretta shotgun, wood carvings, and many other items to be auctioned and raffled. Admittance by advance tickets only Tickets available at: Home Hardware, Terrace Bay, Sun & Fun Sports, Terrace Bay Western Tire, Schreiber, Cebrario's Hardware, Schreiber or from the following committee members, Dave Speer, Will Robinson, Joe Marcella, Bob Baxter and Preston McKeever. Tupperware Ltd. sponsored a_microwave, cooking demonstration on August 21 at the Terrace Bay Recreation Centre. There were about 17 in atten- dance at the free class held by Lorraine Fee, seen above, and Grace Parker. Both women are from Thunder Bay. standards that manufacturers of infant car- riers, child safety seats and booster seats must meet. . You can provide the best protection for . your children by securing them in a properly installed seat, anchored to your vehicle by a top tether strap. Each year in Canada, about 70 young children are killed and 4000 are injured in car crashes. The latest national survey showed that almost 80% of children under 5 are not being protected adequately in motor vehicles. Transport Canada sets tough safety Buckle up. It's the thing to do. Canada iv Transport Canada _--' Transports Canada

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