Guelph Cargill Dunlop workers will keep hitting the streets until they reach an agreement with their employer.The international company’s Canadian operations include the processing of beef, poultry, oilseed, the manufacturing of livestock feed, and more. It employs more than 8,000 people across Canada.The Guelph Dunlop location is a large-scale Halal facility for beef processing.Members of the UFCW Local 175 commenced strike action at 12:01 a.m. in Guelph on Monday, said director Sam Caetano. He said they had reached a recommended settlement last week, but it was rejected.“The membership rejected the four-year memorandum of agreement at 82 per cent,” said Caetano. He said they have never had a labour dispute with Cargill in Ontario before. Although there was an offer to increase wages in the settlement over four years, he said the workers were not satisfied with it.“This is in response to the cost of inflation, cost of gas, cost of food,” said Caetano. “The government doesn’t understand that raising interest rates to five and six per cent, doubling people’s mortgages, borrowing the same money, is causing a big effect.”He said he feels many of the struggles that workers are facing have to do with mortgages. That people can’t afford the same loans, and risk losing their homes.
One Day at a Time’: Cargill Dunlop Workers Picketing in Guelph
