Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 17/99) - The whistle blew and an era ended on Friday, when 40 workers at Giant mine finished their last shift.

The mine is now officially on care and maintenance, which means only 24 employees will be left on-site.

After 21 years as a Giant miner, Mladen Bajctic walked out the front gate and didn't look back.

"It's sad. I'm worried about my pension. My hope and future plans are gone," said Bajctic.

"I'm not happy. What I would like is for Miramar (Mining Corp.) to sign the deal to purchase the mine and to hire the people they said they would."

Federation of Labour president Wayne Campbell stood out front to greet the workers as they came through the gate. When asked if he was feeling nostalgic about Giant mine, he just shook his head.

"I came to wish the workers well and to let them know that we're working towards building a future for them in the North," said Campbell.

"It's a bittersweet end to it all. The old Royal Oak regime is finally gone, but at the same time, most former Giant workers are Employment Insurance recipients."

Canadian Autoworkers local 2304 president Marc Danis said he is keeping his eye on the future.

"We've got a good number of our guys interviewing for Lupin mine jobs, and hopefully we'll be able to keep the others in the Northern mining industry," said Danis.

"It's time to move on. We have to accept that Giant mine will now become a piece of Canadiana. It will come back in some form, but it may be under a different name and it will definitely be operated differently."

As for CAW local 2304, Danis said they are going to continue to serve their members.

"We won't have the same Northern presence we've had in the past, but we're not going away," said Danis.

"The CAW local 2304 leadership is still intact and we'll continue to do business. When Miramar opens the mine up, we'll be right here to help get it going again."