Good news for Ivaco Rolling Mills

Months of uncertainty about the future of Ivaco Rolling Mills ended with employees receiving a huge Christmas gift on Thursday, December 22.

The region's largest employer, located in L'Orignal, has received the go-ahead to proceed with upgrades that will help modernize the aging facility.
The company had been considering a $20-million capital investment to correct emission problems in the bag house as well as other upgrades to the plant.

After months of pressuring the federal and provincial governments to provide funding for the project, it appears the hard work has finally paid off, though it remains unclear how much funding will be provided.

According to Richard Leblanc, a staff representative with the United Steelworkers union, which represents a number of employees at the plant, management and employees have been working side by side since last spring to come up with a deal.

Leblanc noted representatives from the company's Chicago head office were part of a meeting that took place in L'Orignal on May 4.

"The union has always wanted to make this work," Leblanc said. "There has always been a willingness to talk and the employer has been weighing options."

Earlier the same month, management had circulated a letter to employees stating that if they weren't willing to accept some changes, the plant would be forced to close its doors.

Steve Berniquez, an employee who has worked in the melt shop at the plant for 22 years, said the union and management were able to negotiate a new five-year collective agreement that was accepted by 87 per cent of union members.

He said the agreement included provisions to freeze cost-of-living increases for the next five years and stated employees will now be paying 20 per cent of their benefits.

"These are small sacrifices compared to ensuring that the people who work here will have work for the next 20 years," he said. "It's better than having no jobs and seeing the plant shut down. None of us wanted that and we all worked together to make sure that didn't happen."

As a result of the agreement, the company abandoned plans to layoff employees, restructure the rod mill and close the steel plant.

The Review attempted to contact Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MPP Grant Crack for a comment on the project and costs associated with it, but did not receive a response as of press time.