Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) has said it would lay off 275 workers at its cellulose plant in Témiscaming, Quebec, about 40 minutes northeast of North Bay.
Many of those losing their jobs are Unifor members, and the union isn’t happy. Yesterday, May 8, the union released a statement expressing “its consternation” regarding the layoff announcement. Unifor calls the layoffs an “abandonment” of the town and derides the “lack of response” from the Quebec government.
See: Major layoffs announced at Temiscaming RYAM plant
The decision was “totally devoid of any human consideration,” said Daniel Cloutier, Unifor Quebec Director. “What we’re seeing here is a company that’s sacrificing the well-being of an entire community to prove its profitability to third parties.
“It’s unacceptable to treat workers as simple pawns in a financial game,” Cloutier continued. “This decision is both inhumane and irresponsible. RYAM has pulled off a publicity stunt on the backs of an entire population.”
Stéphane Lefebvre, President of Unifor Local 233, which represents many Témiscaming RYAM workers, said “an entire town is in peril as a result of the unilateral decision of an American company that seems to place little importance on the fate of Témiscaming workers”
“We are very concerned,” Lefebvre stated.
See: Temiscaming prepares for 'major impact' of RYAM layoffs
As for the response from the government, “We’re seeing a deafening silence from the minister responsible for the region.” The union demands “an immediate and decisive intervention from the government to save the jobs and communities affected by this decision,” Lefebvre said.
Unifor outlined that “RYAM acknowledged that this decision is about demonstrating, among other things, that the site and its various processes can be operated separately to facilitate its bid to sell the business, which the company initiated last fall.”
The union refers to this move as “nothing less than a marketing power play that shows flagrant contempt for the 275 workers,” who will “be out of a job as of July 2.”
Unifor is calling on RYAM to reconsider its decision and demands the province intervene immediately “to save the jobs and communities affected by the crisis.”
