BY SARA KEDDY
Kings County Advertiser/Register
Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the Waterville tire plant August 18 to showcase what the Work-Sharing Program can do. The Employment Insurance bridge last year helped Michelin “weather the storm” of the global economic crisis.
In early 2009, Michelin North America president Dick Wilkerson said, “to put it politely, the North American tire market had cratered.
“Major truck fleets were parking, and they were taking tires off those vehicles to supply the fleet. The decline in new supply was 45 per cent, and the replacement market was down 23 per cent - unprecedented, and we were in a very difficult position.”
Michelin negotiated with Service Canada to start the Work-Sharing Program: 578 plant staff volunteered for reduced hours, with EI adding income support for the difference in their paycheques.
Wilkerson said the program helped Waterville avoid 95 lay-offs.
“We wanted to keep all our employees working, retaining their skills and knowledge, so when the market recovered, we could be ready to respond faster than the competition.”
Production is now “in full swing.” The work-share started in April 2009 and ended in November; since January, the plant has added over 90 jobs.
“This was a benchmark in progressive policy - it really helped us weather the storm,” Wilkerson said.
Harper said the Michelin example, and Canada’s economy, represents well on the world stage through the economic recession and an “extremely fragile” recovery.
“Canada’s economic action plan is government’s plan to protect workers - create jobs, and protect existing jobs as much as possible. We’re especially proud of the success of the work-share program here,” Harper said.
“Lay-offs were looming - the stats were pretty bad, but the team banded together and covered almost 600 people. That paid off, and you all deserve credit for it.”
Harper said continuation of the program in the 2009 budget worth $60 million brings the total investment to $220 million.
Harper also announced continued $4 million support cost-shared federally and provincially for 19 projects under the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers program, including a 19-week transition program for 24 workers in Annapolis Royal offered through PeopleWorx.
