Workers affected by the April closure of the XL Foods plant in Moose Jaw, Sask., likely have Sept. 28 circled on their calendars.
The province’s major beef slaughter plant is scheduled to re-open that day after a five-month shutdown.
Norm Neault, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1400, said last week he had not heard if that would actually happen. The union represents about 200 people laid off due to the closure.
Typically, they would receive recall notices a couple of weeks in advance of going back to work but Neault said XL used a different process.
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“When they issued the initial layoffs, they had a fixed (recall) date in the notice,” he said.
“That’s a bit unusual.”
He said he called the company to confirm the recall but wasn’t able to learn more.
“We’ve got no reason to believe that it wouldn’t (re-open),” he said.
Some have speculated that the plant will stay closed a while longer or perhaps permanently.
That talk wasn’t quelled by a June appearance at the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association convention by XL’s co-CEO Brian Nilsson.
“We very much believe that we are going to start the plant in the fall,” he said at the time.
“Now, I get to September and there’s no cows or the U.S. packers continue to draw Manitoba … you cannot fight some of the logistics.”
The company said in April that a lack of cows coming to slaughter and the cost of removing specialized risk material were behind the decision to close.
The workers’ contract expired Jan. 31 and some negotiations have taken place during the shutdown. XL Foods presented a “final, best offer” in June but an agreement has not been completed.
Neault worries that employees will have found other positions and won’t return. Some have been drawing employment insurance while others have moved to other jobs or taken training courses in other fields.
He added the company has to make its intentions known soon.
“You have to make sure you’re operational,” he said. “You have to have everyone on the line to make the plant work.”
Nilsson said in June that the plant could start slowly and ramp up production if there are not enough employees.
Neault said the company is required by law to provide 90 days notice of a permanent layoff.
Calls to XL Foods were not returned.
