Rio Tinto’s indefinite closure of aluminium alloy ingot plant in Beauharnois, Quebec, has been considered as an unexpected on workers and their Unifor Union, Canada's largest private-sector union, with over 300,000 members in a diverse range of sectors, across the country.
{alcircleadd}On 26th October’20, Renaud Gagné, Quebec Director, Unifor, said: “This is very bad news. A hard blow for our members as the holiday season approaches.”
“In addition to the layoff notices and bonuses that will be offered to them in accordance with the collective agreement, workers will have the opportunity to go and work in Saguenay in one of the Rio Tinto factories,” Mr Gagné added.
In the last one year, a 60% drop in contracts has made the employer to decide for the closure of the plant. The weekly yield dropped from 1150 tonnes of the ingot to a range of 400 to 450 tonnes.
The Beauharnois plant employs more than twenty members of 1951 local of the Unifor union.
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