CANADA (From news reports) -- Unionized workers at the Catalyst Crofton Paper Excellence mill did not return to their jobs as originally scheduled Monday following a month-long curtailment.

Employees from the Public and Private Workers of Canada Local 2 and Unifor Local 1132 remain off the job following an extension to the curtailment.

An unnamed Paper Excellence Canada spokesperson provided the following statement:

"The curtailment at the Crofton site will be extended to the end of August. This includes pulp, paper and shipping operations. Global pulp and paper prices have continued to decline through July, mainly driven by high inventories and weak demand.

"Throughout July, the mill has maintained a core complement of staffing levels to safeguard the site. This will continue through August. We will also continue to work with both the PPWC and Unifor to assist employees where we can to help minimize the impact.

"This is a difficult decision to make and we recognize the hardship it will cause our employees and our community. We want to emphasize that this curtailment is about poor market conditions and increasing cost pressures, and not a reflection of our employees' efforts at the site."