Cautious optimism among striking workers as IOC reaches out

Fresh progress between the local steelworkers' union and the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is welcome news but the overall mood remains cautious, one worker and union executive says.

A Facebook post on the USW 5795 page yesterday indicated that the union, which has been on strike in Labrador City since late March, had been contacted by IOC and was working on a new offer.

"I'm feeling reserved, that's the best way to put it," Mike Furlong, a power engineer at IOC and a member of the union executive, told the Labrador Morning Show.

"Most people on the ground here are not overly optimistic."

The last offer from IOC was unsatisfactory, Furlong said, and this time he wants to wait to see what a new offer would contain before he gets excited about the possibility of ending the strike.

"It's hard to get your hopes up and then get them knocked down."

'It's a two-tier system'

The contact disputes between the union and the IOC centre not on wages, but on factors that affect quality of life, Furlong said. 

The union is focused on three main areas: health benefits, pensions and temporary workers.

They've asked IOC to drop a cap on pharmaceuticals in their health coverage that Furlong said can lead to huge expenses for some workers. Those expenses can create distractions that aren't safe in an industrial work environment like theirs, he said.

"How do you keep your mind on your job when you're worried about 'Am I going to have enough for my MS medication? Am I going to have enough money for the kids' medication?'" he said. 

"You can't be healthy and think positive and be safe if you're worried about necessities of life."

Similarly, people shouldn't have to worry about their pensions and retirement when they're still working, Furlong said. And temporary workers should have the same benefits and protections as full-time workers.

• Strike at IOC in Labrador City as Steelworkers reject company's offer
• IOC cuts medical benefits for workers as strike drags on

"It's a two-tier system with employees, and overall they weren't treated very well," he said of temporary workers.

Furlong acknowledged that some of the demands won't apply to all IOC employees. He said he's been at the company for more than a decade himself, and doesn't know that he's ever used his prescription benefit. But the focus on making sure all employees are treated equally.

"This is not a greedy contract we're looking for," he said.

"We just want to make sure that we shore up the people who are more vulnerable."

Strike impacting wider community

The news of new discussions comes after weeks of silence from the IOC as the strike drags on and 1,300 workers remain on the picket line.

• Striking Labrador steelworkers on picket line thankful for community support
• Layoffs and cutbacks at Labrador City businesses as strike realities begin to hit hard

The strike has already had wider impacts in Labrador City, where the IOC is the largest employer. Some companies have had to lay off employees or make other cuts, and the company has made cuts to medical benefits and community funding as the strike continues.

The community support for the striking workers has been fantastic, Furlong said, and morale is still high on the picket line.

"This has been one of those experiences that has made our union stronger. There's always this worry that the strike is going to tear you down, but this hasn't happened this time," he said.

"People are coming together like they never had before and there's this sense of pride."

But while morale is up, so is the disdain held for the IOC, Furlong said -- and that might not end when the strike does.

"The longer this goes, it's going to be good for the union," he said.

"But as a company as a whole? It's going to be hard on the company, no doubt."