At the complex the company runs copper, zinc, nickel, and cadmium smelting and refining operations. Workers are exposed to toxins such as lead, arsenic, and beryllium. According to Ken Bentley, a union committee person, there are always some 125 workers on sick leave from the plant.

In the first two weeks of the strike, workers would line up about 15 cars at the entrance to the complex, each one stopping at the picket line before the driver turned back. This delayed the entry of ore-bearing trucks for hours.

On October 14, a judge issued an injunction forbidding the strikers from delaying any vehicle. We witnessed huge trucks filled with nickel ore being driven through the picket line with a very visible presence of private security guards. Falconbridge has hired a Quebec-based company to do this scab driving job. This is especially resented in a region with a high percentage of French-speaking people.

In response to the company’s move the union is planning to organize secondary picket lines in the region.

On the highway in front of the plant’s entrance there is a constant flow of cars and trucks noisily honking their support to the strikers. Among those who have visited the picket line to show support are retirees from CAW Local 598 at the Falconbridge mine in Sudbury, as well as members of Local 591 from North Bay.

Meanwhile, Inco Canada announced October 11 that it is buying out Falconbridge to become the world’s largest nickel producer. This move threatens to unleash a new round of job cuts.
 
 
Related articles:
Meat packers on strike in Alberta confront scabs, boss violence
Teachers walk out in British Columbia  
 
 
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