Final amount depends on result of lawsuit
Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 25/01) - Three hundred former Giant Mine workers should finally be getting some severance pay over the next couple weeks.
Cheques for about $2,000 per worker will be issued to former employees -- 300 in Yellowknife plus 400 at a Timmins gold mine. The mines were operated by the now bankrupt Royal Oak Mines.
The main creditor of of the company, lender Trilon Bancorp, allowed receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers to set aside $2 million in assets for severance, said Canadian Auto Workers plant chair Steve Petersen.
Petersen said because the bankrupcy dates back to 1999 cheques may not reach some former workers who've left the area.
"The majority have moved on," said Petersen, who has 50 or 60 outdated addresses so far.
Additional cheques for $200 to $300 per worker could be mailed later, depending on the outcome of a lawsuit.
Creditor Golden Hill Construction, after some of the $2-million pie, is owed $12 million and is suing for secured creditor status, Petersen said, adding if the company wins its case in court there won't be any more severance pay available, he said.
Royal Oak Mines went bankrupt owing about $600 million to creditors that include the NWT Power Corporation, the City of Yellowknife and several Northern businesses.
