The temporary layoffs that were announced in November, have begun to take effect on two Cameco sites in northern Saskatchewan.
Approximately 845 workers at the two operations will be without work for ten months until the sites are scheduled to reopen.
Duncan Gardiner has worked at the sites for close to 17 years and says life is going to be quite different for those without work.
“For some of us, it’s pretty much all we’ve ever known, to do a job like this, so it’s a huge impact. The way
of life that we lead at home is going to change a bit in terms of not getting paid,” remarked the mill operator. “It’s been pretty somber (on site.) I think a lot of people were worried from the beginning how it was all going to work with unemployment insurance and all that stuff.”
The workers that are being let go are comprised of 560 employees and 285 contractors.
In November of last year, Cameco noted the fall in Uranium prices as the main factor causing the sites to close. Uranium prices have fallen by about 70% since the Fukushima accident in 2011.
(PHOTO: McArthur River uranium mine. Photo courtesy Cameco)