IOC workers will soon be cleaning toilets once janitorial staff cut

With the entire janitorial staff out the doors at IOC in western Labrador later this month, heavy equipment operators and other employees will be cleaning up their own mess.

The company recently laid off 150 staff as part of cost-cutting measures at the Labrador mine, including all janitorial service workers.

Mike Wickersham, a vice president with IOC, says the company isn't looking to contract out cleaning work at the site.

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Instead, employees will need to make cleaning up part of their daily work flow — and that includes kitchens and bathrooms.

"Just like we do at home, folks can take care of their own facilities in our own plants. We intend on having a housekeeping regiment where we do that stuff internally and I don't have a need to go outside for that," Wickersham told CBC's Labrador Morning.

According to Wickersham, it will be a similar idea to retail locations that include cleaning bathrooms as part of shift duties.

Just like we do at home, folks can take care of their own facilities in our own plants.- Mike Wickersham, vice president with IOC

"It'll be the folks who are here on site, our employees and if you go to especially large chain stores it's not unusual to see a sign-up sheet on the back of a door in a restroom facility and we'll be following a similar protocol," he said.

"We'll just make sure we set the right standards, set the right frequency and folks can take care of that."

The biggest challenge currently facing the IOC mine in Labrador, Wickersham said, is ensuring these additional tasks fit in to existing duties, but he said workers are up to the task.

"We have to become more productive. We can find a way to get more done during the day if we schedule it right, if we approach it with a sense of ownership and commitment, and that's the challenge for us. That's what's going to enable us to survive."

Wickersham said despite current IOC trending upwards, the price of ore is still relatively low and the company won't be considering a reverse of the layoffs, which are set to take effect June 14.