‘Importance of rules-based commerce’ mirrors union campaigns
The policy priorities recently announced by the Canadian Steel Producers Assn. (CSPA) are strangely familiar. The four points it was striving to make when it met with federal politicians during the first week of April included building a stronger manufacturing base, pursuing fair trade, creating a better balance between environmental and economic policy, and developing a more skilled workforce.
Sounds like a number of union demands that have so far fallen on deaf ears. But, the association will be making that pitch in Ottawa, perhaps to a friendlier audience.
Among the “key policy issues for manufacturing” listed by the CSPA are better access to capital, competitive tax rates, tax credits for training, more open access to new markets for Canadian products and easier recourse to “trade remedies at home to counter illegal foreign practices such as dumping and subsidization.”
Demand for steel has dropped drastically. According to the industry group, capacity utilization in the steel industry has fallen to below 50 per cent over the last six months, leaving employers with few options but to lay off employees.
George Kean, president of the Steelworker local in Labrador City and a 35-year veteran of the industry, stressed that this situation is unique in his career. In the past, downturns would affect only iron and steel. “This time,” he told CBC News, “it’s every industry. This is much bigger than anything we’ve ever seen before, and we don’t have any control over what happens.”
Steel mills and mines have been using a variety of methods to reduce labour costs. These have tended toward temporary shut-downs and short workweeks. For example, salaried workers at the Essar Steel Algoma plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario voted in favour of a 32-hour workweek, down from 40 hours, with EI providing support for the eight hours of lost employment. Tenaris Algoma Tubes had another temporary shut-down in February, its second closure in six weeks. This week, the Iron Ore Co. of Canada in Labrador City announced that it would extend its five-week summer shut-down to 13 weeks for its 1,100 miners. In Havre-St-Pierre, Quebec, QIT–Fer et Titane also announced an eight-week summer shut-down due to weak demand.
These strategies have the benefit that, even if they don’t cut costs as quickly or as drastically as permanent layoffs, such as occurred at Lakeside Steel in Welland, Ontario or, most recently, at Arcelor Mittal in Contrecoeur, Quebec, they do preserve the skills and experience of a body of employees who can live to work another day.
In relation to human resources, the CSPA points out that half of the workforce of the Canadian steel industry is over 45 years of age. Replacement of these employees as they retire will be a vital issue for the coming years. And, as the industry makes greater use of technology, the importance of knowledge and skills in new employees will grow. The association is deploying a publicity campaign for students, and developing an industry plan to encourage workplace knowledge transfer.
