IOC denies forcing employees to work overtime, says company's credibility at stake

An operations officer with the Iron Ore Company of Canada denies union claims that employees are being forced to work overtime, and says slipping production this past winter has left shareholders concerned. 

• Labrador union workers fire back at IOC criticism of skipping shifts
• Another blow for Labrador as IOC delays Wabush 3 project

Thierry Martel told CBC's Labrador Morning Thursday that overtime is voluntary, but when workers agree to work extra shifts, they are expected to show up.

"Those hours are planned in our schedule and we expect workers to show up at the scheduled and planned overtime days," Martel said.

The company fired off a terse memo to employees on Monday, criticizing the drop in production in March and April, and laying some of the blame on workers.

This comes after a record iron ore production in 2015, and a 40 per cent improvement in productivity.

The union responded by blaming worker fatigue and forced overtime, claiming that anywhere from 15 to 20 per cent of union workers on site are there because of forced overtime.

The union also stated that 100 employees left the company in 2015, but were not replaced.

Doing more with less

Martel flatly denied the forced overtime claim, and had this response when asked why the company doesn't just hire more workers.

"You would think that if you just improve your capacity and not improve efficiency, you would need more people. When you improve both, you get to do more work with the same amount of people," he said.

"Throughout our operation we've demonstrated our ability to do that." 

The Monday memo said the situation has prompted a review of IOC performance, and resulted in another delay of the critical Wabush 3 mine expansion project. The project has been described as essential, since it would extend the life of the operation by many years.

The company first announced in December that it was shelving the $250-million project because of the weak outlook in commodity prices.

Prices remain sluggish, but now there's an added reason for the delay.

"The result of skipped shifts left trucks idle and production well below demonstrated capabilities," IOC president and CEO Kelly Sanders stated in the memo.

Martel said company shareholders and lenders have expressed concern with the company's ability to reach its production potential, "and the ability of the company to deliver (Wabush 3)."

Martel said he hopes to be "back on track with Wabush 3" by later in the summer, but noted the results of the performance review will weigh heavily on any decisions.

"It's about our credibility. Can we deliver what we said we would deliver?" he asked.