MONTREAL - Union workers have won a temporary injunction that will delay the dismantling of a Montreal-area Shell refinery slated to be stripped down for other uses.
Quebec Superior Court granted the 10-day injunction today.
The union had argued before the court that stripping down the facility would make it impossible to court a potential buyer who might continue using it as a refinery.
The union hopes the refinery jobs might be saved thanks to a supposed $420-million offer from Israel's Delek Group. It disputes the company claim that talks with Delek had fallen apart.
The House of Commons Industry committee intends to seek more details from Shell executives at a hearing over the next several days.
Shell announced last month it was closing the 76-year-old refinery and that it would be converted into a distribution channel.
About 500 employees work at the refinery, including roughly 330 unionized workers, as well as up to 400 contractors hired for various projects at the facility.
An estimated 2,500 indirect jobs rely on the refinery's operations, which provide about $240 million in annual economic benefits to the city.
