Unifor leads protest calling for severance, pensions from Wescast owners

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

The sound of classic protest songs by Pete Seeger and Billy Bragg filled the air outside of Wescast Industries’ machine shop on Water Street during an attention-grabbing demonstration in Wingham last week. 

 

The issue at hand: the ongoing labour dispute over unjust treatment and withheld severance payments and pensions owed to Wescast employees who found themselves suddenly without a job last summer when the owners elected to shutter a large portion of their manufacturing operation. Close to 180 Wescast employees have been told that the closure is a temporary one, and that the owners are hoping to restart production in the area in 2026, at which point the workers will resume their manufacturing jobs. Laid off Wescast employees refute that claim, asserting that Wescast’s parent company, Sichuan Bohong, is trying to avoid paying employees the money they are due under the guise of a temporary lay-off.

 

Wescast Industries spent over 100 years as the industrial lifeblood of Wingham. The foundry started out in 1902, making cast iron wood stoves, eventually moving into the automotive business in the 1970s, creating parts for international companies like General Motors. Wescast eventually grew into the largest employer in North Huron, and was sold in 2013 to Chinese manufacturer Sichuan Bohong Industries in a $200 million deal. Approximately 100 employees remain at work in the machine shop.

 

Laura Collison of Teeswater spent 44 years working as a shipper at Wescast and believes that dedication means she is entitled to things promised in her employee contract. “We want access to our pension, and they won’t give us access. We’ve been laid-off since July 27 of 2023, and have not been recalled. Basically, we are entitled to a severance, and we’re here, standing for it... there’s many employees that have dedicated their life to this company, and they are just sweeping us under the rug. They are not following procedures, and they are violating the Employment Standards Act.”

 

Wescast’s unionized employees are members of Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada. Unifor’s Regional Director for Ontario, Samia Hashi, spoke to protestors at the event. “We should not have to be here today. We should not have to demand that Wescast meets its obligations and pays workers what they’re legally and contractually obligated to. For over a century, the Wescast plant was more than just a workplace - it was a cornerstone of Wingham. It was a source of livelihood, pride and identity for generations of families. That reputation is being tarnished by Wescast’s current owners, Bohong Industries, which is withholding approximately $10 million from workers.” Hashi’s words drew cries of “Shame!” from the crowd, directed at their former employer. She went on, saying, “They refuse to give workers what they are entitled to - well, Wescast, that’s not how we do business here in Ontario. That’s not how you do business anywhere.”