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Steelworkers' jobs being transferred out of Sudbury

UPDATED - Oct. 28, 1:40 p.m. Twenty-four people who work in Vale Inco's Sudbury procurement office will soon receive notices that their jobs are being made redundant.
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Twenty-four Sudbury-based jobs with Vale Inco are being transferred to Toronto and Brazil, according to a press release put out by the United Steelworkers. File photo.

 

UPDATED - Oct. 28, 1:40 p.m.

Twenty-four people who work in Vale Inco's Sudbury procurement office will soon receive notices that their jobs are being made redundant.

The elimination of the jobs, which are currently filled by members of Steelworkers 2020, is part of a restructuring process announced by the company in May, where operations such as procurement, payroll and accounts payable are being amalgamated.

Vale Inco spokesperson Cory McPhee said the restructuring is being made to “take advantage of economies of scale” and is “essentially just a good business move.”

These departments will now work out of a new “shared services office” in North York (in the Greater Toronto Area).

“For instance, a buyer that's located in the new shared services office will be buying not just for the Sudbury operations, but the operations in Voisey's Bay, Nfld., and Thompson, Man.,” said Vale Inco spokesperson Cory McPhee.

McPhee said the workers who have been made redundant are currently being re-assigned to roles normally filled by striking members of Steelworkers Local 6500.

When the strike is over, the workers will go through a “bumping process” within the union's collective agreement to see who will still be working in procurement.

McPhee said the company hopes to re-assign all of the workers within the company so that nobody is without a job.

“At this point in time, that's the plan, whether or not we can do that longer-term,” he said.

Steelworkers staff representative Myles Sullivan said in a press release that “once again, this community is paying the price because Vale Inco has decided to move our work elsewhere.

“The mines, mill, and smelter are here and all the work supporting this should be done here, as it always was in the past.”

"How can the Canadian government say this is a net benefit to Canada?" said Sullivan. "How can Harper and Clement sit silently and watch Vale Inco cut and slash more northern Ontario jobs? It is time for them to step up to the plate and take action on behalf of Sudbury and Canada. The government owes it to the working men and women who they claim to serve and represent."

Local 2020 unit chairperson Dan Serré said in the press release he is upset with the loss of Sudbury jobs.

"This is 24 jobs being moved, on top of the 65 lay-offs Vale Inco has done since March 2009. Our workforce is not happy with exporting our jobs out of Sudbury.”



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