The company that controversially hired Chinese workers at a northern B.C. coal mine is dismissing union claims that it rejected resumes of a number of well-qualified Canadian applicants.
HD Mining told Business in Vancouver in an email February 5 that both it and the federal government would be releasing official responses on February 15 to claims made by the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 115, and the Construction and Specialized Workers Union.
Those unions say Canadians should have had first crack at the jobs and, in documents filed in federal court February 1, noted the experience qualifications of Canadian job seekers who submitted resumes to HD Mining.
“The information released so far is only the union’s position,” HD Mining wrote in its email. “It is important to understand the transition of skills from one type of mine to another – hard rock versus coal; and room and pillar versus long-wall.”
There are no other long-wall coal mines in Canada, HD Mining noted.
The company plans to use technology that it said will open up “other opportunities and jobs for Canadians.”
It is also working on developing a training program with Northern Lights College.
