|
Government
announces framework to assist Tom Rideout, Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture and Chair of the Cabinet Committee on
Fisheries Issues, today announced a framework to assist plant workers
and regions impacted by fish plant closures.
The framework will take a two-track approach to address the needs
of individuals and the opportunities for economic diversification in
regions where fish plants have closed.
Minister Rideout also announced that plant workers impacted by
the Fortune plant closure are the first workers eligible for programs
and services under the new framework. Joining in the announcement
were Paul Shelley, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment;
Jack Byrne, Minister of Municipal Affairs; and Kathy Dunderdale,
Minister of Innovation Trade and Rural Development. �While
discussions to address
a long-term
restructuring strategy for the fishing industry are ongoing, government
realizes that individuals are facing considerable stress and we are
ready to respond to the needs of workers and regions when plants close,� said Minister Rideout.
�This cooperative framework approach will include the three
orders of government and industry stakeholders.� See backgrounder for details regarding eligible plant
closure. The Department of Human Resources, Labour and
Employment will work in partnership with Service Canada-sponsored Employment Assistance Services (EAS)
to set up a Transition Office in communities where
there is a plant closure. �Government remains committed to long-term solutions
for individuals,� said Minister Shelley. �This partnership approach
is key to empowering people. Support
will be provided to plant workers to help them identify their best
options, and to provide assistance in developing personal transition
plans, with a goal to securing long-term income.� The Transition Office will serve as a single point of
entry for access to accurate and consistent information and counselling
on relevant provincial and federal programs.
Working
together, provincial and federal officials will ensure that plant
workers are well supported in their decision-making and also connected
to any other agency or department that provides a service which may be
of benefit to the individual plant worker in their transitional
planning. To
complement existing programs, Minister Byrne announced a Plant Worker
Employment Program. �We
recognize that short-term solutions are necessary so that people can
deal with their immediate financial needs,� said Minister Byrne.
�This program will work in cooperation with municipalities and
other regional stakeholders to provide short-term insurable employment
while plant workers are considering longer-term employment options.� As
well, government is in the process of developing additional programs
that will assist plant workers. These
initiatives will be announced as they are finalized. To
complement the efforts of the Fishing Industry Renewal process that
emerged from the May 24 meeting on the The
Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women will also participate
in the working committee. A
significant proportion of workers in the fishing industry are female,
and government recognizes that any programs designed to help workers
must recognize that fact. Government already offers a comprehensive set of
programs to help small businesses, cooperatives, and economic
development organizations. In
addition to helping workers, provincial
and federal economic development agencies will make an enhanced
collaborative effort to work with community and business stakeholders on
regional economic diversification efforts. Minister Dunderdale noted,
�The focus of these efforts will continue to be on creating and
expanding viable business opportunities in a region. In each region designated under the framework, government
will establish a new coordination committee of the main economic
development agencies including federal, provincial, regional and
community partners.� The
purpose of the new coordination committee is to identify and accelerate
the best business ideas and economic development projects in an effort
to replace as many jobs as possible in the region. �While
it may not always be possible to replace every job lost in a plant
closure, it is important to have a concerted effort to accelerate every
worthwhile opportunity. This
formal partnership structure will ensure that whenever a plant closes,
there will be an intensified focus on coordination of regional economic
diversification efforts, in addition to existing initiatives,� said
Minister Dunderdale. The province will continue to pursue an early
retirement program with the federal government. �Plant closures that may
occur in the fishing industry will have a significant impact on our
older plant workers,� said Minister Rideout.
�We
recognize that other provinces are going through similar circumstances,
but we remain convinced that the profound circumstance faced in Discussions have been initiated with community and
industry stakeholders in Fortune. It
is anticipated the Plant Worker Employment Program will commence in
Fortune as soon as projects can be coordinated with local municipalities
and groups that manage employment projects.
Additionally, a small number of plant workers in Fortune recently
hired under an interim employment project will be transferred to the
Plant Worker Employment Program and retroactively provided with the wage
rate assigned to the program. The
Transition Office will open in the community by mid to late July. Minister Rideout said, �We recognize that there is
potential for future plant operations in Fortune.
However, in the absence of a definitive plan and considering the
time that has elapsed since the closure, we are compelled to provide
assistance and support to impacted plant workers and explore further
opportunities for economic diversification in the region.� Minister Rideout concluded, �The government remains
committed to working in partnership with communities, industry
stakeholders and the federal government so that we can move toward a
sustainable, competitive fishing industry and strong diversified
economic regions in The Cabinet Committee on Fisheries Issues, which
oversees the framework, also includes Loyola Sullivan, Minister of
Finance and President of Treasury Board; Clyde Jackman, Minister of
Environment and Conservation; Trevor Taylor, Minister of Transportation
and Works; Roger Fitzgerald, MHA Bonavista South; and
Harry Harding, MHA Bonavista North. Information on program guidelines and an application
form can be found at � www.gov.nl.ca/mpa/fpwsp Media
contact: Lori
Lee Oates, ABC, Communications, Fisheries and Aquaculture, (709)
729-3733 BACKGROUNDER Eligible Plant
Closure An eligible plant closure would include a situation where
all the species licences for a plant have expired, been surrendered, or
been revoked, and there is no plan to re-issue these licences for the
facility. Government is also prepared to initiate the framework
in communities where, even if a plant technically still has valid
licences, the plant has not operated for a minimum of 12 months and all
reasonable indications are that the plant will not open in the near
future. This might include,
for example, a situation where an owner appears to have permanently
ceased operations and after one year of closure no other operator has
come forward with a viable business plan. To ensure the effectiveness of the transition services
in a situation like this, there would also need to be a receptive
environment for the transition services as evidenced by the support of
the community and the workers' union for implementation of those
services. At this time the framework does not apply to a
situation where the operator is in receivership and there are still
decisions to be made by the receiver regarding the future of the plant.
A plant in this situation might re-open or the receivership might
evolve into a permanent closure. In
situations like this, government will make its decisions on a case by
case basis as the situation evolves. The framework does not apply in a situation where a
plant has been closed for less than two years and the operator has not
given any indication of long-term intentions. Plant
Worker Transition Office (Transition Office) The
Plant Worker Transition Office will coordinate series of supports and
services provided at a one-stop point of entry (known as a Transition
Office) for displaced plant workers. The
supports and services provided will include assistance with
understanding the various options available to plant workers, labour
market information on the types of jobs that are in growing demand, the
training required, and in some cases, referral to the appropriate
service provider. The
Transition Office will be staffed by Human Resources, Labour and
Employment (HRLE) and the Service Canada-sponsored Employment Assistance
Services (EAS). Working together they will ensure that plant workers are
well supported in their decision-making and also connected to any other
agency or department that provides a service which may be of benefit to
the individual plant worker in their transitional planning. Plant
Worker Employment Program The
Plant Workers Employment Program is a provincially-funded, targeted
employment creation program focused on creating short-term employment
initiatives for fish plant workers who are unemployed as a result of the
permanent closure of a fish plant, and have not been successful in
establishing current year eligibility for Employment Insurance benefits. The
program is intended to provide one-time transitional employment
assistance and also offer participants access to transitional
counselling services to ensure full consideration is given to longer
term transition options.
All eligible individuals will be entitled to a maximum of up to
one fourteen week rotation under the program at a wage rate of $8.75 per
hour. The
program utilizes a community-based sponsor and delivery model.
Employment supports provided through this program are aimed at
projects which provide an enduring benefit to communities and which have
an economic development or community infrastructure focus.
Wherever practical, the program will leverage and combine with
other government programs or community-based fundraising initiatives to
supply materials, specialized labour, and other non-labour related
project components. To
be eligible for the program, individuals must be identified either
through a seniority list provided by the union, or from a company list
of employees. Enhanced
Economic Diversification The enhanced economic diversification efforts will build upon
opportunities identified by government�s Comprehensive Regional
Diversification Strategy announced in March 2005. //www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2005/intrd/0318n02.htm The cooperation and collaboration between governments and economic
development agencies was previously carried out on a more informal
basis. Under the enhanced
structure, regular meetings will be held and a more concerted,
formalized effort will be made to share information among partners.
There will also be more involvement at the community level. 2006 06 28 9:55 a.m. |
|
|
|
All material copyright the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server. Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement |
