UPDATED Jan. 28 at 9:15 a.m.
A report put out by an industrial inquiry commission examining the lengthy strike at Vale's mine in Voisey's Bay, Labrador helped to achieve a tentative agreement, according to a union representative.
Vale and Steelworkers Local 9508, the union representing the 200 striking workers, came to an agreement late Jan. 26, after bargaining for more than a day with the help of a provincial mediator in St. John's, Nfld.
“I'm sure that because the commission report is out there, the company wanted to get back to the table and get their own deal,” Boyd Bussey, a staff representative with the Steelworkers, said.
The strike started in August 2009, and is now more than a year and a half old. Vale continued production at the mine during the labour dispute with replacement workers.
The industrial commission, appointed by the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, put out a report about the strike at the end of December.
The commission's three-member team includes Brian Gatien, a labour lawyer who has offices in both Sudbury and St. John's, Nfld. The report included proposed contract terms.
Bussey said there are “significant” differences between some of the contract terms recommended by the industrial commission and the tentative deal worked out between the two parties.
“Whether the overall package is better that what the commission was recommending depends on which issue you are talking about,” he said.
Bussey said his members are voting on the contract over the next few days, and the results should be known Feb. 1. While he wouldn't divulge details of the tentative contract, he said it's a good deal.
The main issues in the Voisey's Bay labour dispute have been disagreements about wages and benefits, as well as how long a new contract should last. The union wants the contract duration to line up with the expiry of the contract in Sudbury.
Bob Carter, a spokesperson for Vale, said he is also unable to speak about the contents of the tentative agreement.
He said the union approached the company last week about negotiations with the help of the provincial mediator assigned to the labour dispute, Bill Wells.
The negotiations were originally meant to be “informal,” with small teams from both the company and union at the table, Carter said.
“The discussions evolved such that we were able to agree last evening on a tentative agreement, which the USW bargaining committee unanimously supports.”
Nearly year-long labour disputes between Vale and the Steelworkers in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ont. were settled in July 2010.
When asked why it's taken so much longer to settle the Voisey's Bay dispute as compared to the strikes in Ontario, Bussey said he's not sure.
“I don't understand why the company did what it did,” he said.
“We should have had a deal last July, at the same time as Sudbury had a deal. We offered to accept the same concessions on the bonus...and the company turned it down on the 20th of July.”
Steelworkers Local 6500, which represents Vale workers in Sudbury, has shown solidarity with the Voisey's Bay strikers through both monetary donations and moral support, Bussey said.
He said the labour dispute has been hard on the strikers and their families.
“The strike has lasted through two Christmas seasons,” Bussey said.
“It's been tough on the families. Good on them that they were resilient enough to sustain that, be able to vote on this new offer, and still remain strong and resolved. They amaze me. They're an amazing group of people.”
