Olymel workers endorse new contract

The Olymel pork slaughterhouse in Valle-Jonction may be saved from closure after workers voted 62.2 per cent in favour of a new contract Tuesday.

Some 856 employees voted on the proposal drawn up by government-appointed mediator Jean Poirier, which includes benefits and wage concessions Olymel said it needs to make the money-losing plant profitable.

Olymel told workers in January they needed to accept salary and benefit reductions or it would shut down the plant and move operations to Alberta.

Employees rejected earlier contract adjustments three times before accepting Tuesday's deal, which includes a 30 per cent wage and benefit cut. The salary reductions won't come into effect until fall 2007.

Olymel hasn't yet said whether the new contract will ensure the slaughterhouse's future. The pork processing plant is the largest in the province, and the main employer in Valle-Jonction, a small town in the Beauce region south of Quebec City.

Quebec's once-thriving pork industry is suffering because of global competition and the strong Canadian dollar.