WINGHAM, ON—Wescast Industries’ decision to close its foundry operations will devastate workers, families and the community of Wingham, where the facility has operated for more than a century, Unifor says.

“Wescast and its overseas owners are turning their backs on the foundry’s dedicated workforce and the community that has supported them for generations,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “The Wingham foundry closure announcement must serve as a wake-up call to every level of government that Wingham auto parts workers urgently need support.”

The Wescast Industries foundry in Wingham has been in operation since 1902 and primarily manufactures exhaust manifolds for automakers such as Ford, General Motors, and Volvo. Wescast was acquired by Sichuan Bohong Co. Ltd. in 2013.

Last week, Wescast Industries communicated to Unifor its intention to close the Wingham foundry while continuing to source castings directly from sister operations in China. Approximately 250 Unifor Local 4207 members currently work at the foundry. The union maintains that overseas sourcing of the castings violates program commitment guarantees in the collective agreement and is the subject of a prior grievance filed by the union earlier this year.

“Wingham can’t afford to lose hundreds of good jobs and neither can the industry,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director. “Maintaining these jobs and the footprint of our auto parts supply chain is crucial to maintaining the skilled workforce and industrial capacity needed for the transition to electric vehicle manufacturing.”

Since Wescast was acquired by Bohong, the union has repeatedly expressed concerns to management regarding the company’s lack of investment in basic maintenance of the historic facility.

“With a complete failure by management to properly invest in this facility, it’s been up to workers to keep this plant running and do more with less,” said Joel Sutton, Unifor Local 4207 plant chair at Wescast. “Wescast has profited from this situation and wants to turn around and reward our hard work and dedication by violating our collective agreement, closing the plant, and moving our work overseas. It’s disgusting.”

While the situation at the Wingham foundry is unfolding, Unifor has warned Ottawa that proposed amendments to the Investment Canada Act aimed at enhancing its scrutiny of foreign investments and strengthening penalties do not go far enough, particularly in light of the ongoing dispute at foreign-owned Windsor Salt. The union also continues to push for comprehensive policy reforms to support the auto and auto parts sectors, particularly at-risk manufacturing plants with investment strategies and workers with transitional supports.

The collective agreement between the union and Wescast is set to expire this year and the parties are in the process of entering negotiations.

Each day we benefit from the labour of millions of workers who give large proportions of their lives to provide us with everything that makes up modern life, from providing power and fuel to making finished goods and moving and taking care of people. Sadly, every year, thousands suffer injury or illness because of their working conditions and horrifyingly, workers continue to die on the job or as a result of it.

Since our last Day of Mourning, we remember Unifor members:

Yan Ni, Local 252

Camil Pouliot, Local 299

Adam Love, Local 4268

Michael Daye, Local 506

Brad Poupard, Local 2009AP

Jean-Xavier Proulx, Local 299

Terry Roberts, FFAW-Unifor

Michael Gravelle, Local 6008

Paul Totten, Local 45

They are not forgotten.

“Mourn the Dead, Fight for the Living”

The slogan for the Day of Mourning reflects the need to remember those who have lost their lives but also contains a strong reminder of the need to press for improvements in health and safety in our workplaces, ensuring workers are protected from the workplace hazards that lead to preventable, needless death, serious injury or illness.

On April 28, too many Canadians can name a victim of a workplace fatality, disease or injury. The years may have passed but the work-related death statistics have not improved. Multiple fatality incidents every year across the country still shock us. On average, three Canadians die every day from their work. As a society, we must do more to protect working people.

The lives of the families of those killed and injured in these and other workplace tragedies change immeasurably; they often feel let down by a justice system that takes far too long to establish exactly how their loved ones died, or in the case of those injured or ill, the circumstances that led to them to suffer life-changing injuries or illnesses.

Occupational health and safety laws across Canada require employers to take every precaution reasonable to safeguard workers. When this duty of care is not met, employers can be subject to compliance orders and prosecution. But when this breach amounts to a wanton or reckless disregard for the lives and safety of workers resulting in death or bodily harm, justice demands more. The Canadian labour movement  lobbied for 12 years to amend the Criminal Code which is embodied in Bill C-45, also known as the ‘Westray Law’, which was enacted in 2004.

Although there is a need for new or improved health and safety regulations in a number of areas, even more urgently, Unifor demands that all Canadian regulators enforce existing laws vigorously and effectively, including the Criminal Code Amendments.

On April 28, please take time to reflect on the service rendered to each of us by thousands of unseen workers who make up the workforce in our communities and who support the lives we lead. This is also an important time to revisit your workplace’s health and safety measures and review the resources available through your union.

Let us collectively ensure that this year’s Day of Mourning observances send a strong message to all governments and law enforcement agencies. At every opportunity, we need to tell our elected politicians that we want action and we intend to support only those who will give us this commitment.

Download Unifor’s Day of Mourning poster and social media sharables here. Post messages on social media, tag your representatives, and tell them we demand strong protection for workers.

We ask all Unifor Locals to share stories and photos of activities and events related to participation in this year’s Day of Mourning activities at healthandsafety@unifor.org.