BY KEITH LACEY
The offer presented by Falconbridge Ltd. to unionized production and maintenance workers at its Sudbury operations "is just disgusting," says the union president.
Rick Grylls, president of Local 598 of the Mine Mill/Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), said there has not been any progress in talks to avoid a strike by 1,060 members of Local 598, whose current contract expires at midnight Saturday.
The union's bargaining committee met with the membership three times Friday, and the workers agree the offer is nowhere near acceptable, said
Grylls.
"When we told them what was on the table and all the concessions, they were disgusted," said Grylls.
The strike will have started today unless there's a dramatic change in attitude and a reasonable offer is presented, said Grylls Friday afternoon.
Earlier on Friday, Hemi Mitic, assistant to CAW president Buzz Hargrove, and members of the bargaining committee, held a press conference on the status of talks.
It's doesn't look like a labour dispute can be avoided, said Mitic.
The union has information Falconbridge management has told many non-union staff to clear their lockers and not return to work, which is a clear indication the company fully expects a strike, said Mitic.
The company's offer is "a document that really provokes a dispute" and will lead to strike action, said Mitic.
If there was decent progress at the bargaining table, the bargaining committee would recommend continuation of talks into next week, said Mitic.
However, there has been so little progress and the company and union remain so far apart on several key issues, it appears the strike is imminent, said Mitic.
The company continues to demand the right to hire contract workers when major projects like the Nickel Rim, Onaping Depth, and planned open pit
operations begin full production in the next years, said Mitic.
The union won't concede any contract language that allows the company to hire contract workers, said Mitic.
"The use of contractors in the workplace remains very troublesome," he said.
The company's offer called for a 40-cent-an-hour increase in the first year of a new deal and no other wage increases in the second or third year, said Mitic.
The company also wants to eliminate the cost of living provision in the first year of the contract, which would take away between 25 and 30 cents an
hour, leaving the workers with a final wage increase of less than 10 cents an hour over the duration of the three-year deal, he said.
"You don't need to be a rocket scientist" to realize the financial offer isn't acceptable, he said.
The company has also proposed eliminating defined pension contributions and replacing them with an annual RRSP plan, said Mitic.
The RRSP contribution would only benefit those people still working and laid off workers would not receive any funding, he said.
The bargaining committee is frustrated the company continues to insist on concessions when nickel prices remain at a 15-year high hovering around
the $7 (US) per pound and production is up at all Sudbury operations, said Grylls.
The membership is producing more nickel with 200 less people than were employed three years ago, he said.
Dale Coffin, director of communications for Falconbridge, said he wouldn't comment on the state of negotations or specifics being discussed at the bargaining table, however, he remains hopeful a deal can still be reached to avoid a strike.
"We're committed to meeting as often as we have to to try and reach a settlement by midnight Saturday," he said.
Coffin wouldn't comment on whether the company plans on using replacement workers to continue production at Sudbury and area mines and plants
should a labour dispute take place.
