Canadian wire rod mill workers off the job

Canadian wire rod mill workers off the job

Four hundred and fifty workers at Ivaco Rolling Mills’ wire rod plant in Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada, have been off the job since last week. The steel union and the company have conflicting explanations as to why. Ivaco claims the Local 8794 is on strike. Unable to reach an agreement with Ivaco on a new contract, the United Steelworkers Union voted to strike on September 16 if no deal was reached. “The strike deadline was midnight last night and they are on strike at this moment,” said David Goldsmith, Ivaco senior vice-president and general manager Friday (September 16). The union, however, sees things a little differently. “It became obvious by late Wednesday that there was no point in continuing through to Friday,” said Local 8794 president Richard Leblanc. “The company then locked us out.” Whether or not the union is officially on strike, the cause of the contract dispute is no mystery: the two sides are deadlocked over the company’s proposed pension plan, which would offer new employees a different plan than existing workers have. The union claims Ivaco, which was purchased by US-based Heico Companies nine months ago, is trying to import American-style labor relations with Canadian workers. The company claims it is protecting the pensions of current employees, but wants to introduce a defined contribution pension plan for new employees rather than enrolling them in the existing plan.