The Hamilton Spectator reported that US Steel has recalled all of its laid off Hamilton workers and is posting plans to hire another 72 staff for its Canadian operations. The good news, however, doesn't include restarting the Hamilton blast furnace.

In an e mail exchange, US Steel spokesman Mr Trevor Harris said that the jobs are a response to business conditions. He added that "In order to continue to support the needs of our customers and meet demand in the marketplace, we have recalled all remaining eligible workers to Hamilton Works."

In an interview, Mr Harris warned the hiring shouldn't be taken as a sign of coming changes in operations at the former Stelco plant. He said that "Don' read anything into this about changes in our operations, especially regarding the blast furnace. There is nothing on the horizon regarding that."

Mr Rolf Gerstenberger president of Local 1005 of the United Steel Workers welcomed the recall as the end of a chapter that never should have been opened. He said that "These people shouldn’t have been laid off in the first place. They were needed to cover all the operations."

The recall affects 24 workers who were laid off late in April 2012 after completing 26 weeks of employment they were guaranteed under the contract that settled the 11 month lock out that started in November 2010.

The other positions to be filled are posted under the careers tab of the company's website uss.com. They include eight production jobs in Hamilton and 28 at the Lake Erie plant plus 11 salaried jobs in Hamilton and 16 in Nanticoke. There are also nine positions in other operations.

US Steel Canada currently employs 1,100 hourly and salaried staff in Hamilton and 1,250 in Nanticoke.

Source - The Hamilton Spectator

(www.steelguru.com)