Pugwash Strike Is Over Pugwash Salt Strike is Over But Few are Happy
The strike is over at the salt mine in Pugwash and some workers will return to their jobs on Monday.
While this would normally be good news, the sudden acceptance of a new contract — principally the same offer that was rejected about a month ago — is being met with stoney silence.
The president of Unifor Local 823 has declined comment, referring requests to the mine manager, Jean Baptiste Dromer. However, calls to the mine office go unanswered.
Paul Jackiewicz, the company spokesman during the short-lived strike answered an email by saying, "Thank you for your request – we’ll get back to you as soon as possible."
Employees are clearly uncomfortable with the situation, giving the impression that they held their noses when voting in favour of the contract first offered earlier in October.
While nobody would go on record, some could not hold back their displeasure. One said, “This is just a sh- -ty contract.” A second added, “We are supposed to shut up so everybody will think everything is lovey-dovey.” Another complained, “We had no choice. The company kept bringing in salt the whole time we were negotiating.” The implication was the company was more ready than the union for a long strike.
While some workers will return to work on Monday, most will not. The mine has not been in full production for some time and nobody knows when it will return to full force.