There is still a small hope that the numbers could go down.
Announcing the shutdown of its paper mill last Thursday, Howe Sound Pulp and Paper first said about 180 employees were being cut from its payroll, later confirming that it was laying off about 140 union and 40 salaried staff.
Then this Wednesday, in a meeting with about 30 company, union and government reps, the number went down to 171. The shift was in the staff numbers, which dropped to 32. Unifor Local 1119 president Don Rheaume has said the “numbers can change” after the company sits down with the union. With those meetings now going ahead, we can hope that a similar ratio of union jobs could be salvaged. That would mean something like 28 jobs.
Again, there are slimly promising signs. Judging by the number of employment opportunity ads from B.C. pulp and paper companies that suddenly appeared in Coast Reporter’s classified section this week, there is strong demand in the industry for the Port Mellon workers’ specialized skills. HSPP’s parent company, Paper Excellence, recognizes this and is also putting out the net for its soon-to-be-former employees’ talents. The company said Wednesday that it’s placed a hiring freeze on its mills in B.C., Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, in order to give the displaced HSPP tradespeople and staff first crack at any openings.
Of course, even a substantial clawback of job cuts on the trade side would be small consolation for the bulk of employees who have been hit by the company’s decision, but it could at least diminish the impact, both to them and the community. We urge the company not to overlook the full value of its human assets.
Our hearts go out to the employees. As MLA Nicholas Simons told us this week, the situation has created great stress and uncertainty for them and their families and will have a ripple effect throughout the Sunshine Coast. The sudden exodus of so many community members will have profound social implications, for Gibsons in particular. And that doesn’t even include the economic pounding the region will take once those $17 million direct dollars stop flowing into the mix.
Finally, let’s not forget the cause of this devastating loss. There is some irony in the spectacle of these “proudly paperless” government people who are now wringing their hands over the human cost of the shutdown, or running in to try to fix the problem after the fact. In a place where the livelihoods of our neighbours depend on sustainable forestry, perhaps going paperless was not such a virtue after all.
Like Mayor Wayne Rowe, we’re old school. We like paper.
