7 November 2008
Local Rail Yard Lays Off 10 Employees Hired Less than a Month Ago
Moose Jaw Alberta - Canadian Pacific Railway has laid off
10 recently-hired workers from the Moose Jaw mechanical facility.
The 10 men were hired on 20 Oct 2008 and let go on Wednesday.
"We've been told, that (the layoffs) are because of the downturn in the economy," said Darryl MacDonald, president of
the Canadian Auto Workers Office, Lodge 204, which represents the mechanical workers.
One of CPR's larger clients, a potash mine, is currently on strike.
MacDonald believes that that could also be a factor in the lack of traffic in the yard.
As of now, MacDonald said these are the only layoffs in this area that he knows of. "(CPR) just did a big hiring
campaign," said MacDonald.
But because of the long process that applicants must go through before they are brought on to the CPR payroll, MacDonald figures
that the economy must have gone down since the hiring.
A tentative call back has been set for 1 Jul 2009, but again MacDonald says that will also rely on the economy's
performance in the coming months.
CPR spokeswoman Breanne Feigel said, after speaking to a representative from the Moose Jaw area, it is her understanding that
these are just routine layoffs due to market fluctuation and a low demand of consumer movement.
If the men that were laid off were part of the union or had a certain amount of seniority, they would have been able to work at
other locations around the province, said Feigel.
But because these men have not completed their 90 days of required probation, they are not considered permanent staff and will
have to wait for the call back.
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