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Home » 2009 » #792 » International News » Canada: Unions under rising attack

Roger Annis, Vancouver

Forestry products is Canada’s largest manufacturing industry, employing 275,000 workers. Most of these jobs are unionised.

Bankruptcy protection in Abitibi’s case is code language for tearing apart existing collective agreements.

Abitibi says it cannot assure that it will meet its pension obligations. The company operates some 40 plans of different employee groups.

It also says it won’t pay severance pay to workers at its paper mill in Grand Falls, Newfoundland. The mill was closed earlier this year after workers refused to accept wage and other concessions.

Meanwhile, 10,000 members of the Canadian Autoworkers Union (CAW) at Chrysler assembly factories in Canada are under sharp attack by the company.

Chrysler is not satisfied with concessions the union agreed to at GM Canada in March. It wants much deeper cuts to benefits, and says it will close its Canadian operations if it doesn't get them.

The cuts at GM did not touch the wage rates of current employees.

The Canadian government is echoing the threats of Chrysler. It says it won’t give any more bailout money to the company if the workers refuse the concessions being demanded.

The Canadian government is offering bailouts to GM and Chrysler proportional to what the US government is offering.

On April 18, the CAW held a rally at a Chrysler assembly plant gate in Ontario to denounce the company's threats

[Roger Annis is a member of the International Association of Machinists.]

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