Maple Leaf Foods and the union representing workers at its Thamesford plant have reached a closure agreement.
The company announced back in November it would be closing the Thamesford facility and moving its production to a new Sofina plant in Mitchell.
The closure impacts about 350 unionized workers.
“We enter in negotiations with a heavy heart, it’s not something you look forward to doing,” said LiUNA Local 3000 representative Ann Waller.
“Our committee was primarily made up of employees that work at the Thamesford plant. Some of them have been there for over 30 years, and in some cases we have where both husband and wife were working at the plant, both of them will be losing their positions.”
Waller says about 260 workers attended a meeting to vote on the deal and 85 per cent approved of it.
“Enhanced severance provisions for the employees, that includes an excess of what the Employment Standards Act would provide. It also includes severance packages for active and inactive employees, so employees that have been unable to work for a period of time will also participate in the enhanced provision,” said Waller.
The maximum amount of severance pay required to be paid under the Employment Standards Act is 26 weeks.
LiUNA says workers will be offered help in transitioning to new positions and they hope the Sofina plant that’s taking over the Thamesford work will hire many employees.
Back in November, Maple Leaf Foods President and CEO Michael McCain said closing the plant was a difficult decision that came down to the “substantial physical limitations at our 80-year-old Thamesford plant.”
The plant will close sometime in early 2018.
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