Stelco to recall 175 laid-off workers in Hamilton, Ont., on Dec. 1

Detailed summary

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said Friday it had secured enough customer commitments to restart finishing operations at Stelco’s Hamilton plant, with all affected employees to be recalled on Dec. 1.

HAMILTON — Stelco’s American parent company has pledged to recall 175 temporarily laid-off steelworkers and repay their lost wages after weeks of federal pressure, including threats of legal action and the prospect of an investigation into anticompetitive conduct.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said Friday it had secured enough customer commitments to restart finishing operations at Stelco’s Hamilton plant, with all affected employees to be recalled on Dec. 1.

Union leader Ron Wells said workers would be relieved to return to their jobs, but the layoffs should never have happened in the first place.

“We didn’t need to get to this point,” said Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, which represents workers at Stelco’s Hamilton Works.

He said the recall would ease uncertainty for workers heading into the holiday season, although some might not receive their next regular paycheque until mid-December.

The company said the decision to restart the finishing operations is due to increased customer demand.

“I would like to thank our valued customers for the faith they have placed in us, and our workers for the patience and resilience they have continued to demonstrate during this challenging period,” Stelco president Paul Simon said in a statement.

Cleveland-Cliffs raised the ire of Ottawa when it announced the layoffs in September.

The steelmaker cited U.S. tariffs, weak demand for Canadian steel and competition from imported steel products as reasons for the cuts.

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