Update:
In Sudbury, miners who had their shifts cancelled last week due to concerns about the safety of a shaft at a local mine gathered today at their union hall.
Vale suspended operations last Thursday at the Coleman Mine in Levack to do repairs to the mine shaft's ventilation compartment, and now hundreds of workers are off the job without pay, which contradicts their collective agreement and puts undue hardship on the employees affected.
Rick Bertrand, United Steelworkers 6500 President, understands there have been issues with the shaft for quite a while and says it has been neglected. Bertrand blames the company for putting off annual summer shutdowns in recent years, saying this work stoppage could have been prevented by being more diligent about infrastructure maintenance.
While on the job safety is of highest importance, everyone is anxious about getting back to work.
Vale has been contacted for comment, but has no new information to share at this time.
The union says it expects an update on the situation by midweek.
Original story:
In Sudbury Monday, miners who have had their shifts cancelled by vale due to concerns about the safety of a shaft at a local mine, are gathering today at their union hall.
The workers, from Vale's Coleman Mine in Levack, had their shifts cancelled by the company and are not being paid, as per their collective agreement.
They were told to use vacation days. There was a closed door meeting about the issue at the Steelworkers Hall today.
Vale says it is doing repairs on the ventilation compartment, and the workers say they expect an update mid-week.
