The Canadian Press quoted Mr Dalton McGuinty Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario as saying that US Steel's decision to shut down its blast furnace at the former Stelco plant in Hamilton is a terrible development but the Ontario government still hopes the company will continue operations in the city.
US Steel announced last week that it was indefinitely shutting down the blast furnace, shifting up to 400 jobs to other areas of its Hamilton operations, because of poor market conditions and weak demand.
The United Steelworkers of America fears the blast furnace shutdown will soon lead to layoffs, which happened after a similar shutdown in 2008.
Mr McGuinty told the legislature that he knows how unsettling the announcement was for the workers. He added that "I want to say at the outset that, first and foremost, we feel for the workers and their families who have been affected by this terrible development. Our responsibility today is to work with those who have lost their jobs, should that prove, in fact, to be a final decision that the company makes. We have not given up entirely in that scope."
The New Democrats blasted Mr McGuinty and the Liberal government for giving US Steel USD 150 million several years ago to top up pensions for workers at the former Stelco Hilton Works in Hamilton without getting job guarantees.
Mr Andrea Horwath leader of NDP said that "If governments are going to be investing tax dollars in these corporations we should be getting something back for that, some value, and that value comes in the form of job guarantees. When will this government say no to bullying tactics of this arrogant multinational corporation and stand up for Ontario workers?"
Mr McGuinty dismissed Mr Horwath's question but said the government was still working with US Steel to see if there were ways to keep the steelmaking operations going. He said that "I know that the minister of economic development was, in fact, working with the company involved to see if there's anything at all that we might be able to do together. We have found ways in the past, I am proud to say, to work with the City of Hamilton and the people of Hamilton. We will continue to look for opportunities in the future."
The federal government is in the midst of a court battle with US Steel over promises it made under the Invest Canada Act when it acquired Stelco for more than USD 1 billion in 2007.
This is the second time the Hamilton blast furnace has been shut down in less than two years, and comes as workers are in the midst of difficult contract negotiations with the American based company.
Talks began in May 2010 but the two sides haven't met since early July 2010. Last week the company asked for a provincial conciliator, meaning a strike or lockout was possible if the two sides are unable to reach an agreement.
(Sourced from www.thecanadianpress.com)
