Hope impedes retraining for Smiths Falls Hershey workers

Ontario can't retrain workers from the soon-to-close Hershey factory in Smiths Falls because the town and the workers' union are still fighting to keep the plant open, the province says.

When a major employer shuts down in a community like Smiths Falls, Ontario's rapid re-employment and training service sends teams to assess workers' needs and help the workers retrain and find new jobs.

'We have not given up hope yet.' Union representative Harry Ghadban

But Ontario's Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Chris Bentley said that process can't get underway for hundreds of workers in Smiths Falls.

"We work with the people who are on the ground in a particular community," Bentley told CBC Wednesday. "So we're not going to get in the way of efforts by a community and a union to try and keep the plant open."

Harry Ghadban, a spokesman for the union that represents the Hershey plant workers, explained why the union and the town are still fighting.

"We have not given up hope yet, even though they [Hershey] have made what they say is a final decision to close the plant," said Ghadban on behalf of the Canadian Auto Workers. "We still think that it's the wrong decision."

But some workers such as Shawn Harper say they don't think the union's and the town's efforts are necessarily helping workers.

'It's time for the union and the town to step back and help the affected employees move on.' Hershey employee Shawn Harper

"Them holding out hope that's fine for their own personal views," he said. "But there's 600-plus people, plus their families, being held on hold here. It's time for the union and the town to, you know, step back and help the affected employees move on."

The Hershey company announced in February that the Smiths Falls plant will begin a phased shut down later this yearand will cease operationsin 2008.

The closure is part of the company's three-year global restructuring plan.