BY KEITH LACEY
Full production is expected to take between three to four weeks now that the three-week strike at Falconbridge Ltd.'s Sudbury operations is over.
The company says full production will resume at its smelter operation almost immediately.
The membership of Local 598 of the Mine Mill/Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) voted 93 per cent in favour of accepting a new three-year deal Sunday after the union and company reached a tentative agreement around 4 pm Saturday.
This strike was all about securing long-term job security for the membership and the bargaining committee achieved all of its goals to ensure production and maintenance work on future major projects will be done by Local 598 members and not by contractors, said union president Rick Grylls.
?We got everything we were looking for,? said Grylls.
?All production and maintenance work will be done by the CAW employees, which keeps intact the 60-year relationship we've had with Falconbridge under our collective agreement.?
Unionized workers with Falconbridge in Timmins and Rouyn, Quebec allowed contractors to do production and maintenance work on major new projects and many lost their jobs because of it, said Grylls.
?We weren't going to let that happen here in Sudbury,? he said.
?We had between 500 and 600 people get laid off in Timmins and Rouyn because of contracting out and we we not prepared to let the same thing happen here.?
The new collective agreement expires on January 31, 2007 and includes the following:
* Wage increase of 40 cents in the first year plus cost of living allowance in each of the three years
* Pension improvements from $50 per month per year of service to $53
* Language that clarifies the company's use of contractors for capital work and the transition of employees into new projects. The parties agreed that the commitments on Nickel Rim South and Fraser Morgan.
* Projects would extend for six years and would not have to be renegotiated during collective bargaining in 2007
* Commitment from the union to work co-operatively with the company on benefit cost containment projects initiated by the company
* Agreement from senior union officials to meet with senior officials of the company throughout the life of the collective agreement to review and discuss existing business challenges, contracting out and future business growth opportunities.
* A $1,000 ramp-up production bonus to be paid out to employees provided that budgeted tonnes and grade targets are achieved over the 12 week start up period after the return to work process is completed.
* Settlement bonus of $2,000.
"We are pleased with the results of the ratification vote and look forward to having our employees back to work as soon as possible," stated Allen Hayward, Vice-President Mining, Falconbridge.
"We believe the new agreement reached a good balance between the Company's need to maintain costs and flexibility in a global marketplace, while providing our employees with a very competitive settlement."
A return to work agreement has been established for an orderly and safe resumption of operations over the next two weeks.
?Some of the guys started getting called back Sunday night...we expect almost everyone will be back on the job by the end of the week,? said Grylls.
The $2,000 signing bonus will ensure the majority of workers won't suffer any financial pain as a result of the three-week labour dispute, said Grylls.
The additional $1,000 bonus for reaching production targets over the next three months is an added contract feature the workers should be very pleased with, he said.
The bitter seven-month strike in 2000 and 2001 caused a lot of animosity between management and the membership, but that same kind of animosity hopefully won't be there after this dispute, he said.
?Hopefully we can all work together over the next three years to ensure the company and this union prosper,? he said.
?We've had a 60-year marriage and you are going to have the odd conflict...the last time this union took a real hit and I think this time the company suffered a little bit and hopefully we can develop a new spirit of co-operation.?
In retrospect, being out on the picket line for three weeks to ensure the membership will have their job security taken care of well into the future was well worth it, said Grylls.
?We'd certainly do it all over again if we had to,? he said. ?We got basically everything we wanted, so we have nothing to complain about.?
