[Canada] Arbitrator gives $15 million award to Wescast employees

In Canada, an arbitrator has ordered an Ontario employer to pay approximately $15 million in severance and termination compensation to nearly 200 former employees, HRD reports.

The arbitrator found exhaust manifold casting manufacturer Wescast Industries to have violated its collective agreement obligations and Ontario’s Employment Standards Act.

The decision reportedly ended a nearly two-year dispute between the employer and Unifor.

According to the union, the award includes interest penalties. It will be distributed to affected employees who were not provided with their full severance and termination entitlements following the plant’s closure.

Lana Payne - Unifor National President - said, "This outcome will set an important precedent for future disputes and send a strong message to any employer that tries to circumvent our collective agreements or labour laws.” 

Wescast ceased operations at its Wingham, Ontario, plant in 2023 after Bohong Industries decided to close the facility. The plant produced vehicle engine manifolds for automakers such as Ford, GM and Volvo.

In an earlier CTV News report, Terry Brighton a laid-off Wescast employee - reportedly said, “We have it in our collective agreement that if they take our work and move it to China, which they did, we get an enhanced severance. They’re not paying the enhanced severance. They aren’t paying any severance and they refuse to talk to us.”

Source: HRD

(Quotes via original reporting)

In Canada, an arbitrator has ordered an Ontario employer to pay approximately $15 million in severance and termination compensation to nearly 200 former employees, HRD reports.

The arbitrator found exhaust manifold casting manufacturer Wescast Industries to have violated its collective agreement obligations and Ontario’s Employment Standards Act.

The decision reportedly ended a nearly two-year dispute between the employer and Unifor.

According to the union, the award includes interest penalties. It will be distributed to affected employees who were not provided with their full severance and termination entitlements following the plant’s closure.

Lana Payne - Unifor National President - said, "This outcome will set an important precedent for future disputes and send a strong message to any employer that tries to circumvent our collective agreements or labour laws.” 

Wescast ceased operations at its Wingham, Ontario, plant in 2023 after Bohong Industries decided to close the facility. The plant produced vehicle engine manifolds for automakers such as Ford, GM and Volvo.

In an earlier CTV News report, Terry Brighton a laid-off Wescast employee - reportedly said, “We have it in our collective agreement that if they take our work and move it to China, which they did, we get an enhanced severance. They’re not paying the enhanced severance. They aren’t paying any severance and they refuse to talk to us.”

Source: HRD

(Quotes via original reporting)