Seca

irs

we teidel

technical staff.

Marine Workers and Boiler-
makers Industrial Union
(MWBIU) president: John Fitz-
patrick said Wednesday only 109
of about 600 union members who
normally work at Versatile were
still working at the shipyard.

The union represents about 70
per cent of Versatile’s workforce.

Earlier this year, 232 MWBIU
members were laid off at the ship-
yard following the Jan. 3 launch of
the 327-foot Henry Larsen
icebreaker.

In addition to the layoff of Ver-
satile’s tradesmen, about 37° per

Versatile on hold, Montreal gets

SHIPYARD D

Piet a Aart

$785m

provides |
traini
NORTH VANCOUVER
District firefighter Russell
’ Rexworthy sprays a jet of
‘water on the front of a
‘house at 705 E. 12th Street.
The fire department pur-
posely set the abandoned
house ablaze Thursday mor-
ning to provide an_in-
valuable training opportuni-
ty for the firefighters. The

’ house was slated for:demoli-
tion. -_

contracts

OPS

RE WORKERS

FURTHER layoffs at Versatile Pacific Shipyard Inc. have
left the North Vancouver shipyard with about one-sixth of
its trades people and about 60 per cent of its office and

Reporter

cent of the company's 150-member
office staff and design and
technical staff were laid off Jan.
30.

Commenting on announcements
Monday that $785 million in fed-
eral government shipbuilding con-
tracts and federal aid will go to
Montreal's Marine Industries ttd.
to help launch the new ship-
building conglomerate, Fitzpatrick
said, “Wes unreal. Here we are fly-
ing around trying to get the Polar

wt

8 and they get this. | mean they've
got it and we don’t even know if
we have the Polar 8. Lf Chis is Con-
federation, then all 1 can say is we
all better move to Quebec."

But Versatile Pacific president
David Alsop said the recent sale of
Versatile Corp.'s Eastern Cana-
dian shipbuilding assets should
help clear the way for announce-
ment of the $400 million Polar
Class 8 icebreaker contract,

Alsop said the Jan. 41 sale of
Versatile Vickers of Montreal,
Versatile Davie of Lauzon and
Versatile Systems Engineering Inc.
of Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax
fo Marine Industries Lid. was the
“first step’ in the promised finan-
cial reorganization of Versatile
Corp. that wil make Versatile

Cis

Bele

Pacific a separate financial entity
from ils corporite parent,

He said that financial
reorganization should be complete
within about three weeks.

Versatile Corp. reported losses
of $42.2 million in the third
quarter of 1986.

Government spokesman ‘Tom
Van Dusen would neither deny nor
confirm Jan, 16 media reports that
the federal government planned to
award the Polar 8 contract to Ver-
satile Pacific.

“The government has been lean-
ing towards Versatile, yes," Van
Dusen said, ‘But naturally it has
to be sure that Versauile’s finances
have been regrouped before it can
consider (the company) a serious
bidder.”*

Federal aid that will go to
Marine Industries includes $40 mil-
lion to help finance the purchase
of the two eastern Versatile ship-
yards fer an estimated $60 million,
$53 mi.tion in capital assistance
and $40 million in loan guarantees,

The Montreal consortium will
also take over a $130 million CN
ferry contract, 2 $300 million con-
tract to build three frigates, a $124
million contract to overhaul two
destroyers and a $98 million con-
tract to build a Canadian Coast
Guard icebreaker.

In all, Marine Industries has
secured more than half the $1
billion worth of the Canadian navy
shipbuilding contrects scheduled to
be completed by 1992,

Ris

A GO ie Tees c te