BROOKLYN, N.S. - Unionized workers at Bowater Mersey in Nova Scotia have narrowly accepted contract concessions that include cutting 80 full-time and 30 casual positions in a bid to save the paper mill.
Kevin Evans, a union trustee at the mill in Brooklyn, said workers voted 51.7 per cent in favour of accepting the concessions during a secret ballot Wednesday night.
He didn't know the exact number of voters but said it was a very high percentage of the workforce.
Premier Darrell Dexter has said that mill owner Resolute Forest Products Inc. (TSX:ABH) was open to reconsidering a plan to close the operation if it could get concessions from its workers.
He said the mill also needs to cut production costs from suppliers, as well as reduce power rates.
The province estimates that up to 2,000 people in the surrounding area would be affected if the mill closes.
Dexter has said the province is working on ways to help the mill be more competitive, but he hasn't commented on whether that could include some financial help.
