Abitibi-Consolidated Announces Ratification of 5-year Collective Agreement with CEP
July 17 2004 - 11:36AM
PR Newswire (US)
Abitibi-Consolidated Announces Ratification of 5-year Collective
Agreement with CEP A (TSX) ABY (NYSE) MONTREAL, July 17
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (TSX: A NYSE:
ABY) today announced the ratification of a 5-year collective
agreement with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of
Canada (CEP), representing approximately 4,500 of its members
employed at 12 Company Divisions located in Quebec, Ontario and
Newfoundland. The ratification follows the agreement in principle
reached in Montreal on July 6, 2004 between both parties. "These
negotiations presented several challenges, but we were committed to
working together," said Viateur Camire, Vice-President, Human
Resources and lead negotiator for the Company. "We are pleased to
have reached a sound and fair agreement based on a positive
relationship with the Union and our employees." Highlights of the
agreement include: - Term: 5 years, from May 1, 2004 to April 30,
2009. - Wage increases: an average of 11% over 5-year term - - Year
1: $0.70/hour; - Year 2: 2.5% increase per employee; - Year 3:
$0.60/hour; - Year 4: 2% increase per employee; - Year 5:
$0.60/hour. - Pension: 10-year agreement on pension improvements
increasing Company labour costs by 3.2% over the first 5 years,
plus an additional 2.15% effective in 2009. Employee contributions
will increase gradually from the current average of 4.9% of annual
salary up to 7.5% by 2009. - Benefits: the agreement provides for
reasonable improvements and increase in employees contributions in
the area of group insurance. - Job security: renewed and updated
provisions to existing clauses. The total impact on the Company's
labour costs over the 5-year term of the agreement will be 14.3%.
Prior to the previous contract's expiry, the Union and the Company
undertook a new approach to the overall process. First,
negotiations on contract language clauses as well as all local
issues were undertaken before main agenda talks began. These local
negotiations were successfully concluded prior to the expiry of the
1998-2004 collective agreement. Then, final round discussions
centred on monetary issues. This new approach helps support the
Company's ongoing employee relations' efforts.
"Abitibi-Consolidated remains committed to being the lowest-cost
producer in North America," stated John Weaver, President and CEO.
"The challenge for our employees is to increase productivity and
maximize our margins per tonne." Abitibi-Consolidated is a global
leader in newsprint and uncoated groundwood (value-added
groundwood) papers as well as a major producer of wood products,
generating sales of $5.4 billion in 2003. With over 15,000
employees, excluding PanAsia, the Company does business in
approximately 70 countries. Responsible for the forest management
of 17.5 million hectares, Abitibi-Consolidated is committed to the
sustainability of the natural resources in its care. The Company is
also the world's largest recycler of newspapers and magazines,
serving 17 metropolitan areas with more than 11,200 Paper
Retriever(R) collection points and 14 recycling centres in Canada,
the United States and the United Kingdom. Abitibi-Consolidated owns
or is a partner in 27 paper mills, 22 sawmills, 4 remanufacturing
facilities and 1 engineered wood facility in Canada, the U.S., the
UK, South Korea, China and Thailand. DATASOURCE:
ABITIBI-CONSOLIDATED INC. CONTACT: Investors: Lorne Gorber,
Manager, Investor Relations, (514) 394-2360, ; Media: Marc Osborne,
Manager, Corporate Communications and Media Relations, (514)
394-2340,
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