Nearly 70 Thunder Bay grain handlers fear they’ll be permanently out of work once Viterra completes its integration of former Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Agricore United port facilities.
Sandy Kachur, a 32 year veteran employee first of Manitoba Pool Elevators and then AU, said workers have been told at least one of the former AU facilities will close.
“The problem is there’s no place to go,” Kachur said.
A Viterra spokesperson confirmed the port has too much capacity and the company is examining its operations there. Some employees are on seasonal layoff while others have been laid off because of the integration process.
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However, the spokesperson said final decisions have not been made and the company would continue discussions with employees in Thunder Bay.
Viterra has four facilities at the port: Sask Pool 7A and 7B; Manitoba Pool 1, operating as Agricore United’s S House; and Agricore United A.
“We were told Aug. 22 that S House would be closed forever” once it is emptied by boat, Kachur said. This would affect about 20 workers.
Workers were also told A House would continue to carry non-Canadian Wheat Board grain until it is empty. It’s future, and that of its 49 workers, is uncertain, Kachur said.
The options for him and other employees are limited. Under the agreement that created Viterra, only employees from the purchasing company – Sask Pool – have seniority and bumping rights.
Kachur said most of the employees from S House, where he is shop steward for Local 650 of United Steelworkers of America, have 25 or more years of service. They started working at the port immediately following high school graduation and are now in their late 40s and early 50s.
At least one member of the Kachur family has worked as a grain handler continuously since 1911.
“They say they’re going to do the right thing,” Kachur said of Viterra. “There’s been no mention of a package. Some dignity and some respect – that’s all we ask for.”
He said Viterra could handle its port volume through Sask Pool 7A, which was at one time the largest facility in the world. Grain flow through Thunder Bay has dwindled as more grain moves south and from the West Coast
In 2006, 6.5 million tonnes of grain moved through the port, compared to 10.1 million tonnes in 1997 and the 50-year high of 17.7 million tonnes in 1983.
