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12 July, 2010
A strike by 100 members of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) against an intransigent Brazilian multinational is now in its 18th week with no bargaining occurring since the outset. CAW Local 222 in Bowmanville, Ontario, 65 kilometres east of Toronto, is resisting deep pension and other cuts being forced it by Votorantim Cementos and its St. Marys Cement subsidiary,
“Workers have the right to a decent pension,” said CAW National President Ken Lewenza. “This is outright bullying of this small group of workers. This company is far from destitute and the rollback of any hard won workers' benefits is out of the question.”
The strike began on 12 March. CAW Local 222 members last month began extending their picket lines to other St. Marys Cement plants and terminals in Canada. Local 222 saw their prior collective agreement expire on 31 January 2010, with the company demanding a change from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan.
The change could mean as much as a 400% drop in annual pension earnings for workers. St. Marys is also seeking deep work-rule cuts. “This is an important struggle against a company” attempting to attack workers pensions, said Local 222 President Chris Buckley.
Votorantim purchased seven cement plants and terminals, as well as 39 ready-mix operations from Lafarge’s Blue Circle operations in Canada and the US in 2001 for US$700 million. It then revived the name St. Marys to the Toronto-based subsidiary, a name the operations went by for eight decades prior to Blue Circle buying them in 1997. Votorantim is a privately-held São Paulo-based industrial conglomerate that controls one-third of the Brazilian cement market.
The ICEM supports CAW Local 222 in its struggle to retain a fair labour contract in Ontario.