Cameco Corporation has announced roughly half of its 115 employees at the Blind River uranium refinery are no longer working due to what the company referred to as "operational changes."
The company, in a media statement Wednesday, announced operational changes at its Blind River and Port Hope facilities due to restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The changes are due to the increasing challenge of maintaining an adequate workforce as a result of screening protocols and other measures put in place to align with the directives and guidance of government and public health authorities for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis,” the statement read.
Blind River refinery general manager Chris Astles said he doesn’t consider the move a layoff.
“We’re just getting them (the 60 employees) to stay home,” he said of the lower staffing levels needed to maintain the facility during the shutdown and receive production material.
“Their pay cheques (and benefits) are remaining at 100 per cent,” he added.
The refinery has already been operating with a number of safeguards and procedures when COVID-19 restrictions were brought in by the federal and provincial governments, according to Astles
The shutdown will also allow the company to advance maintenance normally performed in the summer during the four-week shutdown period,
As for product being received at the refinery, Astles said the plant is “maintaining our contractual commitments.”
No refinery employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and no confirmed cases have been reported in Blind River. The refinery is the largest employer in the community.
“The UF6 plant is currently operating safely. However, the COVID-19 related screening protocols and other measures Cameco has put in place to align with the directives and guidance of government and public health authorities have created significant difficulty in achieving the workforce levels required for the continued operation of the facility and concerns about the ability to maintain the required workforce levels going forward. The UF6 plant is a complex operation, designed to run as a continuous process without interruptions in production.”
“Since the majority of the UO3 produced at the Blind River Refinery (refinery) is used to produce UF6 at the conversion facility, the refinery’s production will also be temporarily suspended and, where possible, summer maintenance work brought forward. The refinery will operate for about a week to produce sufficient UO3 for ongoing UO2 production at the conversion facility. Then, the refinery will be placed in a safe state of care and maintenance for approximately four weeks,” the company news release stated.
An evaluation of the operations will take place after the four weeks.
“Cameco has always put their employee’s safety first and their years of demonstrating working in a safe work environment is a testament to this,” Mayor Sally Hagman said of the temporary operational changes. “It came as no surprise when the company announced that it was shutting down their Blind River operations due to the Covid 19 virus.
“Cameco has been very generous to the Blind River community as well as other communities along the North Shore. During their Cameco Cares Day, the employees are paid to be out in the community helping not for profit organizations make improvements to their infrastructure. We are very fortunate to have Cameco Corporation in Blind River and applaud the decision to shut down, allowing their employees to stay at home and ensuring that the work environment is free from Covid 19,” she added.