Abitibi Temporarily Suspends Strike Talks, but Reports Settlement Near

Abitibi-Consolidated has temporarily suspended negotiations to resolve the strike that has idled 10 of its mills in Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland. The suspension allows members of the Communication Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) union, who represent the employees, to attend a previously scheduled national convention this weekend. However, significant progress has been made toward ending the strike that began this past June 15.

Susan Rogers, VP of communications for Abitibi, reports that the process agreed to by the company and the CEP in early September has resulted in progress at the bargaining table. She indicates that an agreement has been reached at its Fort Francis, ON, mill and that the company and the CEP aree very close to reaching a pact on local issues and contract language at most of the mills in Quebec. But talks have broken off at Abitibi's Stephenville mill in Newfoundland.

Discussions at Stephenville mill have been basically adjourned until the Oct. 6 session, Rogers says, adding that "local negotiators for the CEP and the mill were unable to come to an agreement, and they have asked for them to be dealt with at the main table."

Some of the negotiations will resume next week in an effort to conclude local agreements between the remaining mills and the workers ahead of the scheduled Oct. 6 national session. "There is a desire to have most of the outstanding local issues between the company and the mill ironed out before the national session on monetary issues start Oct. 6," Rogers explains. She indicates there will be a review of where things stand locally. "At that point, a decision will be made on whether to proceed with the main monetary discussions and wrap up the local issues later or to deal with them first."

Rogers had previously stated that "this negotiation process was not what the union wanted, which was everything at a joint table, and was not what the company wanted, which was everything discussed at a mill level. But both sides compromised and agreed to it."

Rogers further points out that Abitibi-Consolidated "was optimistic that the agreed to negotiating process would prove fruitful, indicating that with the strike entering it's fourth month, it was in everyone's interest to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. There will be an impact on Abitibi's third-quarter performance," she says.

Until now, all efforts to resolve the labor dispute at Abitibi's operations in Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland have failed. The exception was the company's mill at Wayagamack, QC. About 450 workers at this paper mill voted 70% in favor of ending the strike at the end of July. The mill produces roughly 11% of Abitibi's total output of groundwood papers.

Strike action by the CEP began Jun 15 and idled 11 Canadian Abitibi-Consolidated mills. These mills are located at Fort Frances, Kenora and Fort William, and Iroquois Falls, in Ontario; Belgo, Beaupre, Gaspesia, Laurentide, and Wayagamack in Quebec; and Grand Falls and Stephenville in Newfoundland.

The contract between the company and its employees in all three provinces ran out April 30, 1998. The negotiation process to obtain a new agreement began in Dec 1997. A strike vote was held by the union in early May.

While details of the respective positions have been withheld by both sides, a key issue that has separated the two parties has been the negotiating process. The company has coveted a mill-by-mill negotiating process, while the union has hoped to negotiate new labor contracts at a multi-mill, multi- region, bargaining table.