Employees of Algoma Steel won't need to spend the upcoming weekend watching their email inboxes to learn whether their jobs will disappear when the steelmaker fires up its game-changing electric arc furnaces.
A letter of agreement signed last year set Sunday, Apr. 30 as the company's deadline for notifying workers of expected closures of departments, or sections of departments, once the new furnaces are operating.
Mike Da Prat, president of United Steelworkers Local 2251, told SooToday earlier today that the obligation is binding on the company and he expected it to be met.
But Brenda Stenta, Algoma's manager of communications and branding, updated us tonight that the notification dates are being renegotiated.
"The parties have not finalized the process by which employees will be transitioned or notified therein regarding the move to electric arc steel making," Stenta said. "Discussions are ongoing."
The two electric arc furnace facilities are currently under construction at Algoma Steel.
As recently as last month, the company confirmed the $703-million project is on time and on budget, with expected startup projected for mid-2024.
It's the most costly construction project in local history, aimed at turning Algoma into one of the lowest-cost green-steel producers in North America.
The new technology will increase Algoma's annual steelmaking capacity from 2.8 million tons to 3.7 million tons, with an estimated 70 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.
Algoma is currently on a hiring spree. The company and union agree a temporary increase in staffing is needed at its existing facilities to provide fully trained replacements for personnel moving to the new furnaces.
However, entire departments are expected to close once the new steelmaking technology begins operation.
"The company will provide notice to all employees whose departments or sections of departments are facing closure with the commissioning of the electric arc furnace (EAF)," said an agreement signed last year by Da Prat and Algoma Steel chief executive officer Michael Garcia.
"This notice will be emailed, using Algoma’s internal email system and mailed directly to the employees home address. At a minimum the notice should include an estimated date of closure, identify the lines of sequence and jobs the individual employee holds seniority on or is scheduled on.
"It will also identify the mitigating programs that have been agreed to under this EAF letter of agreement.
"All affected employees will be notified no later than Apr. 30, 2023. A list of all employees noticed will be supplied to the union no later than May 31, 2023."
"For sure, we're going to be raising it," Mike Da Prat told SooToday on Thursday afternoon, referring to the company's commitment to provide workers with notification of planned departmental closures.
"They're not diligent on delivering on the collective bargaining agreement," he said. "We'll have to see."