In her recent letter, Gambling with
livelihoods, Shirley Lavigne asks the question if job security
has no meaning in this city anymore.
That question was answered about 30 years ago
when Inco and Falconbridge started a campaign of massive
lay-offs and recalls, and then more lay-offs that became
permanent.
When I was hired at Inco in January 1975, I
thought I would follow in my father's footsteps and retire
there. This was not to be. In 1982, 1,050 workers were laid
off.
With a couple of other "long-term jobs," I've
had since, there was no such thing as job security.
Employees are the first to take the hit when
an employer needs to cut costs. (But) if some are let go, it is
better than everyone losing if the company closes and there are
no jobs for anyone.
I do agree the Horsemen need nine instead of
six months of racing because the cost of keeping the horses
does not change from month to month.
Let the horses run as often as possible. It
is a gamble just like the slots, but many customers prefer
beast rather than machine, and many in the business can draw
horses from other locations to share the wealth. If it wasn't
for the horses, Sudbury Downs wouldn't have the slots. Think
about it.
J. M. Belfry
, Cardiff