United Steelworkers said that Vale Inco is undermining the union and creating an unsafe workplace by forcing some non striking members to do the work of picketing employees in Sudbury, but the company says it's acting within its rights.

The union and the company pleaded their cases at the Ontario Labour Relations Board after the Steelworkers filed a grievance regarding Vale Inco's use of 50 members of Local 2020, representing office, clerical and technical workers, to do the work of striking mine and mill workers represented by Local 6500.

Steelworkers lawyer Mr Rob Healey told the board that the company's actions have had a chilling effect on the strike by forcing non striking union members to do the work of their striking peers under threat of discipline from the company.

He added that "Compelling Local 2020 members to be replacement workers demonstrates to the strikers that the union is powerless to stop these abuses and that the company has unlimited power to stop the strike."

Mr Healey said that the company's actions are undermining two bargaining units at once by applying the striking workers' collective agreement to the non striking workers. He added that "The scope of Local 6500's representational rights is being whittled away by unilateral company action."

However, labor board arbitrator Mr Kevin Whitaker questioned this, pointing out that Local 6500's collective agreement is expired so it can't be breached.

(Sourced from Canadian Press)