Inco defends role of student workers during strike
Inco Ltd. denies allegations from the United Steelworkers union that summer students are being used to replace striking employees at the company's mine in Voisey's Bay.
Joey Chaulk, 22, of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, said he was shocked when he received a call from Inco Tuesday offering him more work at Voisey's Bay.
Chaulk has been hired for the summer to work in the freight warehouse at the site.
"I had the choice to come in or not to come in," said Chaulk.
"I was quite surprised that I would have to cross the picket line, considering I have a lot of family members working with them."
Chaulk said he was one of 12 summer students employed by the mine when the strike began last week.
Local union president Gerald Saunders said the students are recognized members of the bargaining unit and it is not right for Inco to put them in a difficult position by asking them to work during a strike.
"Our experienced people who are bargaining-unit members are offsite now," said Saunders.
"They expect these students to go back and to work in positions now â¦obviously the responsibilities on these kids are going to be much more elevated. They're inexperienced— it's dangerous."
Students not part of bargaining unit: Inco
However, Inco spokesman Bob Carter defends the company's move to offer the students more work. He said the company does not recognize them as part of the bargaining unit.
"They're coming in as students who we are providing employment to and following and completing a commitment we made to them earlier in the year," said Carter.
The union said it is trying to find the students other jobs, so they will not have to cross the picket line.
The 117 members of the United Steelworkers union at Voisey's Bay— who handle heavy equipment and work in the mine's mill— went on strike last week over wages.
A spokesman with the union said mine workers employed by Inco in Sudbury, Ont., earn an hourly wage of at least $24, while their counterparts at Voisey's Bay make $19 an hour.
There is no sign of when talks between the union and the company might resume.