Bowater Mersey Shutdown

2009-05-14 06:25:12

Workers at the Bowater Mersey Paper mill in Queens county are being laid off for another five week period early in June.
Human Resources Manager Robin Anthony says the AbitibiBowater workers will be off from June 6th until July 16th.   She says this production curtailment is related to the world-wide market for newsprint. It is the same reason given for similar shutdowns in March and over the Christmas holidays.   The company is allowing people to apply any unused vacation time towards the five week period. That was also offered to them in the last two closures.   There is a possibility this could signal a change from a year-round operation to limited production runs for the Brooklyn paper mill. And some are suggesting it may lead to efforts at making shutdowns and start ups quicker and more efficient in the future.   Previous layoffs affected most of the 300 unionized workforce at the plant.    The Washington Post is a minority owner of the Bowater Mersey mill. That has kept the Nova Scotia operation out of the Bankruptcy Protection process parent AbitibiBowater has engaged in because of financing issues.

Health Dollars

2009-05-14 06:22:39

South Shore Health is still waiting for specifics on a government anouncement on projects at the hospitals in Bridgewater and Liverpool.   C-E-O Kevin McNamara says it's abnormal for them to be told they are getting financial help but not the amount or when they can expect it.  But he says it is positive to know what projects the funding has been approved for.  He says another challenge is that the district is still waiting for budget figures from the province. McNamara says they may end up in a situation where they would have to make cuts or adjustments to their budget but in a shorter time span. While campaigning with Peter Zwicker and Carolyn Bollivar Getson Wednesday, Premier Rodney MacDonald told CKBW News the funding for the projects at South Shore Regional amounted to 12-million dollars.