Government offers hope to locked-out mill workers

The union representing workers who have been locked out from the Tembec paper mill in Pine Falls, Man., says there is some hope on the horizon.

Union officials met with several provincial cabinet ministers on Monday asking for help in resolving the labour dispute.

Cam Sokoloski, president of the United Steelworkers local at the mill, told CBC News the province has offered to send a letter to Tembec urging the company to go back to the bargaining table.

'It is a spark of hope for us to try and get something going.' Cam Sokoloski, United Steelworkers

The province has also promised to write a letter to the federal government about providing employment insurance benefits to the workers, Sokoloski said.

"It is a spark of hope for us to try and get something going," he said.

About 250 workers have been locked out of the mill, about 130 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, since Sept. 1.

Contract talks between the United Steelworkers union and the company began Aug. 13, but the two sides have been unable to reach a collective agreement.

Negotiations broke down in late October, and the two sides have not been back to the table since then.

A spokesperson for Montreal-based Tembec has said the company needs an "immediate and significant reduction" in labour costs at the paper mill to keep it competitive in a radically changed market for newsprint.

Union leaders have said the lockout is a way to force workers to take a 35 per cent cut in wages and benefits.

It's time the company told the workers whether it plans to keep the Pine Falls plant in operation, Sokoloski said.