A day after workers at the Nemak plant in Windsor walked off the job to protest the facility's planned closure, the company said it would pursue measures to end the blockade.
"Nemak is disappointed that Unifor decided to organize an illegal stoppage to our operations, and will pursue an application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board to cease Unifor's blockade," read a statement from Nemak's Communications Manager Lucy Wildeman.
On Monday, Unifor National President Jerry Dias announced, "Nemak is out of business until further notice."
He accused the company of breaking its contract with workers at the plant when it announced the local facility would shut down in the middle of next year.
"We had a very candid, straightforward conversation where we said that 'we expect that you are going to live up to the terms and conditions that you signed in 2016,'" Dias told reporters while describing a meeting he had with Nemak's CEO last week.
Employees in Windsor agreed to freeze their wages in 2016 until at least 2022 in a bid to keep the plant open.
"The message is, you need to abide by the agreement. You need to invest in Windsor. You need to keep those programs in Windsor, and do what you can to keep future work here," Dias continued.
Unifor Local 200 President John D'Agnolo, who was also in the meeting, said Dias left Nemak's CEO his phone number but has heard nothing since.
The statement from Nemak refutes the claim.
"Since the announcement on July 16 of the plant closure to become effective midyear 2020, the company's leadership has been in constant contact with the union officials, actively working to create a transition plan for employees," it said. "Nemak is in favour of re-establishing a constructive dialogue."
Finance Minister Charles Sousa (at podium) makes announcement in Windsor, January 19, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
While Nemak called the blockade illegal, Dias told workers Labour Day, "this is absolutely as legal as what they are doing. The facts are that Nemak is operating as if there is no collective agreement. So, we are now operating under the premise that there is no collective agreement."
Nemak has come under criticism since the announced closure because the company accepted $4.5 million in provincial and federal funding since 2015.