Safety training and back-to-work orientation await CAMI employees when they return to the Ingersoll plant later this month.
General Motors will slowly begin allowing workers back inside the plant next week, with roughly 45 tradespeople leading the way. They will prepare the facility for reopening.
As of May 18, a skeleton crew will be back at the plant. That will be followed one week later by the return of one production shift. By June 1 there will be two production shifts operating on a rotating basis.
Those expected to report for work over the next two weeks will be contacted individually, according to a letter sent to union members from Unifor Local 88 chairperson Mike Van Boekel.
GM is implementing a number of new safety measures to help protect the returning workers from COVID-19. They include temperature checks of each employee at the start and end of shifts, physical distancing protocols, and mandatory face masks and goggles.
"When you go to the bank or to the grocery store, you will see most people or a lot of people not wearing a mask or glasses. That is their choice. At CAMI you will not be given that choice," Van Boekel stated in a video to workers posted to the union's website. "It is all about trying to keep you and the person beside you safe and we are going to try to bring in the best practices that we are aware of."
In an effort to limit staff interaction, there will be a one hour gap between shifts. Break areas will be expanded and cleaned twice per shift, instead of once every 24 hours. The facility's ventilation system will also be modified to run on a 100 per cent fresh air intake system, with no recirculation.
"The last thing we want is for our plant to have to be shut down for any expanded length of time because of a major quarantine," said Van Boekel.
CAMI's roughly 2,500 workers have been off the job since March, when the plant was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
