Canadian Labour Reporter

Union pulls out of B.C. sawmills inquest BUrnS laKe, B.C. — The union that represented three of four workers killed in saw- mill blasts in British Columbia in 2012 has pulled out of the inquest, citing a lack of confi- dence that the process will pro- vide answers. The United Steelworkers (USW) union, which represents about 9,000 forestry workers, withdrew from the ongoing coroner's inquest into two sepa- rate deadly sawmill disasters three months apart in 2012 — at Lakeland Mills in Prince George and Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake — which is sup- posed to provide analysis and recommendations. The explo- sions also injured more than 40 workers. Tere is little hope the inquest will probe the many outstanding questions that remain, accord- ing to the USW. "It is now clear that the in- quest is not going to adequately answer any of the questions that demand to be answered," said the union's district director for British Columbia, Stephen Hunt. "The withholding of cru- cial evidence from the employer would have made a difference as to how the USW conducted its case and we will not participate in an exercise that does such a disservice to the families who lost loved ones and to the larger community." Prompted by a flawed in- vestigation by WorkSafeBC, the province's justice ministry did not lay charges, saying the bungled report would likely be thrown out in the courts. As such, the coroner's service de- termined an inquest would be the most effective way to exam- ine the explosions. But the coroner's review is not doing what it is mandated to do, Hunt said, adding that Work- SafeBC's flub has had a domino effect — because the RCMP and B.C. Safety Authority relied on a flawed investigation to conduct their own, they have also pro- duced unsound reports. "Over the past week, the inquest has heard how Work- SafeBC's failure to carry out its mandate to ensure the health and safety of workers resulted in a complete mishandling of saw- mill safety both before and after the explosion," he explained. "Despite this tragic failure to do its job, the agency is not being held accountable." Instead, the USW is calling for a public inquiry. Shuttering gm oshawa plant could cost 33,000 jobs: Union oSHaWa, Ont. — If General Motors was to shutter its op- erations in Oshawa, Ont., tens of thousands of jobs would be lost and the provincial and federal governments could be out $1 billion in potential revenue, ac- cording to Unifor. The country's largest private sector union released on March 30 an economic impact study into GM's future in Oshawa, which revealed that should the two current plants shut down, the economic effect would be dire. According to the study, pre- pared by the Centre for Spatial Economics, GM's Oshawa oper- ation supports tens of thousands of jobs, boosts the national gross domestic product, generates vital tax revenues and even bol- sters the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) — all of which are com- mensurate with the automaker's performance. Should GM close, up to 24,000 jobs would be lost immediately, with almost 33,000 jobs lost in Ontario within two years. Even- tual economic recovery would be dampened by a permanent decline in average wages, the study noted. As it stands, skilled trades and production workers at GM in Oshawa are some of the highest paid in the manufac- turing sector. As well, the federal and pro- vincial governments could per- manently lose close to $1 billion in revenue combined. Lost CPP contributions would lead to an increase in contributions or benefit cuts. GM's future in Oshawa is un- certain. With one of the plants slated for closure in 2016 and the other without any new ve- hicle production contracts (such as the Chevrolet Camaro, which the company recently announced will be produced in Lansing, Mich., instead of Osha- wa), Unifor said new investment is necessary. "The benefits to all Canadians are evident in this report. This underlines why Canada needs a focused strategy to win new auto investment, just like other countries have," said Jerry Dias, Unifor's national president. lAboUr brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 formerly ClV reportS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com published weekly by omson reuters Canada ltd. 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Labour Reporter Canadian www.labourreporter.com Photo: Jeff Kowalsky (Reuters) lAboUr lens Dennis Willliams, president of the United Auto Workers in the Unit- ed States, decried automakers' tiered wage system and called for its elimination.

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