NDP calls for jobs to be saved at Alstom

QUEEN’S PARK – Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Thunder Bay – Atikokan MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell are calling on Doug Ford to take immediate action to save the jobs at Thunder Bay’s Alstom plant.

“Our thoughts are with workers and their families as they face uncertainty during these layoffs at the Alstom plant. They shouldn’t need to be worried about their future — about paying the bills and keeping food on the table — when our province badly needs mass public transit and Alstom can provide it,” said Horwath. “Ford has made bad decisions on transit and procurement. But the fight for these jobs isn’t over. We can’t abandon these workers. Ontario has the power — right now, today — to fix this by revisiting procurement, orders and more to save these jobs.”

Premier Doug Ford was at the Alstom plant in August, where workers are represented by UNIFOR. He promised workers that their jobs would be safe. Yet the 1,200-worker plant is now down to 400 jobs, and the newly announced layoffs will now leave Alstom with only 75 workers until the fall of 2022 because Ford was slow to sign new contracts with Alstom.

“Our community has been hit by layoffs that could have been prevented,” said Monteith-Farrell. “I’m worried for the Alstom workers and families who have had their future thrown into jeopardy. And I’m angry that just six months ago, Doug Ford stood at this plant and declared to the workers that their jobs were safe, when he wasn’t going to act on that promise. It’s heartbreaking for these workers, who now have to figure out how to keep the bills paid while they’re laid off.

“The Ford government delayed transit projects, and they didn’t place the orders for cars already needed. But we can fix this. We can listen to the union, the workers, and the industry partners to save these good Thunder Bay manufacturing jobs. Ontario needs transit vehicles, and we can make sure they’re built with made-in-Ontario products — stabilizing good jobs now and well into the future.”