The unio representing the autoworkers at the General Motors Oshawa plant says that GM Canada should not wait to make a decision on the status of the facility.

The 2014 Impala driving off the line at Oshawa Assembly.

Unifor National President Jerry Dias responded to a statement made by GM Canada which suggested that the company was going to wait until after 2016 contract negotiations to make a decision about Oshawas future. For Dias, this is unacceptable; a decision should be made now. 

In recent months, many automakers have made the decision to discontinue operations in Canada, opting for cheap labour regions like Mexico. In December, GM decided to expand its operations into Mexico, following Audi, BMW, Kia, Daimler, Nissan, Honda, and Mazda. However, Chrysler and Honda have both committed to multi-million dollar investments in their Canadian operations.

Were going to continue to push GM to make a decision, taking into account that the Oshawa operations are highly competitive, said Dias. Were actively engaged in discussions with GM as are the provincial and federal governments to find a solution. We believe that we will be able to find a solution and that a decision on a new product for Oshawa should and can be made now.

Dias said that while the unio is not surprised by GMs preference to have another year and half of uncertainty, he is disappointed by the statement from GM Canada president Stephen Carlisle.

Canada is one of GM’s most important countries. We sell vehicles in over 120 countries and Canada ranks 5th for GM country sales and 6th for vehicle production. The first part of our commitment to Canada has been to fulfill and surpass the promises we made at the time of our restructuring agreement, explains Carlisle. We have now begun that process for the Oshawa plant and it will extend through 2015 and 2016One key milestone is that we must complete our 2016 unio contract negotiations before we can make any final decisions.

Unifor Local 222 President Ron Svajlenko remains optimistic that GM will come to the right decision for its Oshawa workers. The decline in the Canadian dollar, combined with the fact that roughly two thirds of our members in Oshawa will soon be eligible to retire will reduce costs for GM in the coming years.

Svajlenko said that in 2012, the unio negotiated a new hire grow-in period which also has the effect of reducing labour costs. Oshawa has been the site of an innovative on-site supplier park, which reduces logistical and transportation costs and allows for greater flexibility.

Were going to continue our dialogue with GM and work toward finding suitable products for our members to build in Oshawa, said Svajlenko.

Unifor represents 3,700 workers at GM in Oshawa and thousands more in the auto parts sector in the surrounding area.

Unifor is Canadas largest unio in the private sector, representing more than 305,000 workers. It was formed Labour Day weekend 2013 when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unio merged.

SOURCE Unifor and GM