Toronto - Maple Leaf Foods Inc, Canada's largest food processor, said it stopped seeking an injunction to bring 51 or more staff and some pork products out of its Burlington, Ontario plant, on strike since Saturday.
"The company has decided not to pursue the injunction at this time because we've got increased access to the plant," said Linda Smith, a company spokeswoman. "There were unreasonable delays at the picket line, now they're reasonable."
Toronto-based Maple Leaf said that it appealed to provincial court to allow safe passage for 51 or more salaried workers and security officers, holed up in its hog kill-and-cut facility since Friday because the police decided it was too dangerous for them to leave.
Security guards have been hurt in scuffles and trucks have been damaged since Saturday when about 900 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) started their strike.
Union spokesman Kip Connolly said he was very pleased with the result. "We're not terrorists, we're not going to leave them hostage."
Smith said the company would continue to pursue the injunction if the situation deteriorated.
About 20 of the remaining staff left Tuesday night and the rest are expected to depart today. They had been finishing up some tasks and living on provisions stored in the facility, which is equipped with sleeping accommodations and showers.
Maple Leaf was also seeking to remove some machinery from the plant and perishable pork product from the facility or on-site trailers. The plant usually processes 32,500 hogs a week.
Traditionally, employers clear out any product out of a plant ahead of a strike but Maple Leaf failed to do so, Connolly said.
Connolly added the striking workers would allow the fresh pork to be taken out unobstructed.
Both sides agree they are settling in for a long fight. Maple Leaf is embroiled in a series of disputes with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which include an ongoing strike at its Edmonton, Alberta plant. Another 850 employees walked out on Monday in solidarity with the Burlington union local.
Connolly said no further negotiations were scheduled for either plant and the union is awaiting a move by the company to replace its unionized workers. "We'll wait to see if the employer brings in scabs (relacement workers) in either Edmonton or Burlington."
Maple Leaf has not ruled out assigning replacement workers to its Burlington plant but said the 91-year-old Edmonton plant would be shut if the workers went on strike. The plant processes 28,000 hogs a week.
Connolly said the threat of a shut-down has been used on Edmonton workers to get collective agreements for the past 10 years, but the employees were tired of being bullied.
Also, the company has locked out 500 workers at its North Battleford, Saskatchewan and Hamilton, Ontario bacon processing plants since August 31 and October 4, respectively.
In the meantime, Maple Leaf has been redirecting hogs to other packers, but would not say which ones.
Connolly said he did not anticipate government arbitration as Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief has said it is up to the two sides to reach a resolution.
The next step for the union, Connolly said, is to roll out a nationwide campaign to boycott Maple Leaf pork products, beginning with union participation and progressing to newspaper advertisements aimed at consumers across Canada. Maple Leaf has already taken its case to Canadians with advertisements in major newspapers.
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