COUP BY WORKERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 247, 31 July 1941, Page 5

COUP BY WORKERS.

ALUMINIUM PLANT SEIZED. HELD BEHIND LOCKED GATES. OTTAWA, July 29. Three hundred men, in a sudden coup, seized the Aluminium Company of Canada’s 150,000,000-dollar plant at Arvida, Quebec, last Thursday, and held it behind locked gates, according to an announcement made by the Canadian Minister for Supply (Mr C. D. Howe). The Minister said there was no labour dispute, but the incident justified the suspicion that an attempt had been made at. sabotage. No damage was done, but the fact that metal pots were allowed to cool and would have to be chipped out before they could be used again would involve the loss of four weeks’ production. However, sufficient aluminium stocks were on hand to avoid any delay in aeroplane production. The plant is situated in the Lake St. John district, and bad communications prevented the Government from getting troops to the scene for three days. Mr Howe said alUtlie workers in the aluminium plant left, except the 300 who executed the coup. On Sunday, two companies of troops appeared, and the men voluntarily withdrew. The (Other workers voted overwhelmingly for a return to work on Monday. The Arvida plant is the world’s largest, and produces more than half of the aluminium produced in North America. Mr Howe said the shift com•menced duty as usual and about half an hour later there was a disturbance in the pot room, which was the most vulnerable point in the plant. The current was turned off, resulting in tlie plant being “frozen.” The Government lias passed an Order-in-Council to enable the more efficient handling of such situations in future, and permitting the calling of armed forces.

Ten thousand men were thrown out of work during the seizure.