Striking workers have been on the picket line since May 1.
After manufacturing workers at Kanata’s Best Theratronics Ltd. spent almost 10 months in the picket line, their union will be returning to the bargaining table with company representatives on Friday.
The workers hit the picket line on May 1. Unifor and Best Theratronics met for bargaining for the first time on Jan. 28-29 and Feb. 7.
It appeared that the union and representatives for Best Theratronics had come to an agreement, but Best Theratronics owner Krishnan Suthanthiran asked for new conditions before agreeing to sign a contract, said Jan Malek, a national representative for Unifor.
The conditions included that workers end the strike, but not return to work for an unspecified period of time while non-union workers were allowed into the plant on March Road, she said.
“We thought we had reached a deal. When it was sent back to the owner, there were new asks on the table,” said Malek, who called that situation “unfathomable.”
“All of a sudden, the goalposts got moved. The law says companies have to bargain. They can’t attach conditions to it. When you end a strike, the reason is to get workers back to work.”
Suthanthiran, whose global business empire is based in the United States, did not respond to a request for comment.
Of the 44 Unifor workers on the original picket line, 16 remain. The others have moved on to new jobs because they can’t survive on strike pay of $300 a week, plus a $200 top-up from the union local, Malek said.
Twelve design specialists, technicians and production planners and controllers who are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) joined the picket lines on May 10.
Unifor filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board in June. The hearing for the union’s original complaint was in November, but there has not been a response, Malek said.
Evening Update
The members of Unifor Local 1541 manufacture medical equipment used in cancer treatment. Best Theratronics produces and maintains external beam therapy units, self-contained blood irradiators and cyclotrons. In 2021, Suthanthiran said the company’s products were used by more than 2,000 cancer centres globally, but none in Canada.
In a May 18 email, Suthanthiran rebuked the striking workers, saying the recent challenges at Best Theratronics were “unfortunate, but predictable Canadian way of Life,” (sic) and suggested he planned to expand his manufacturing operations in India, Europe and the United States.
Suthanthiran, who bought the company from MDS Nordion in 2007 for a reported $15 million, has claimed he invested more than $100 million U.S. in facility improvements, new machine tools and new product developments. He has argued that the company has been losing money and its markets are being eroded by international competition.
Unifor’s contract expired in March 2023. The company tabled its first and only wage offer in January 2024, offering zero wages increases and $25 for new safety glasses, according to Unifor.
“The owner said all along he does not want to deal with the union. There’s a strong sense he’s waiting out our members. Our members are financially struggling. We’ve tried everything we can under the legislation,” Malek said.
“When you’re at the table and you’re bargaining, you want to finish things off. Twice we have thought that we were good and we just needed signatures. And then we find out we’re not. It’s really frustrating,” she said.
“It has always been our goal to settle this dispute and get our workers back to work. We’re going in with that intention and see where we get.”
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