November 30, 2006
Engineers vote to strike at AECL
OTTAWA
Engineers and scientists at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s Chalk River Laboratories voted overwhelmingly to strike if necessary after three months of negotiations with the federal Crown corporation.
The strike vote took place Monday at Chalk River, Ont., as 515 employees seek to renew a collective agreement that expired on June 30.
“AECL is attempting to achieve a five-year contract with lower salaries and benefits than their own engineers and scientists in Mississauga,” said Vince Frisina, chairman of the Chalk River Professional Employees Group. “They are trying to remove existing severance pay protection in the event the company is privatized or transferred. AECL has threatened to lock us out if we don’t agree to concessions.”
The engineers and scientists are responsible for the design and safe operation of Candu nuclear reactors, management of radioactive waste from across Canada and operating nuclear reactors that produce medical isotopes used for diagnostic purposes worldwide.
Earlier this week, AECL announced it had signed a co-operation agreement covering several projects with Nucleoelectrica Argentina SA. The projects include the refurbishment of Embalse, an AECL Candu 6 power reactor that was connected to the Argentine power grid in 1983.
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