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Labour board orders end to Tembec lockout

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba Labour Board has ordered an end to a four-and-a-half month lockout at the Tembec newsprint plant at Pine Falls, according to a union leader.

But Wayne Skrypnyk, area supervisor with the United Steelworkers, said it doesn’t mean the 270 unionized workers will get their jobs back.

The workers have been locked out since Sept. 1, after the union rejected a proposal that would have cut wages and benefits by 35 per cent.

In December Tembec announced that it was putting the plant up for sale and had no intention of reopening it. The company said the plant would be mothballed if a buyer couldn’t be found soon.

The labour board ruling likely means that the company will issue layoff notices to the employees, allowing them to apply for employment insurance benefits, Skrypnyk said.

A company official was not available for comment today. An official with the labour board could not be reached.

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