Contract negotiations went down to the wire, as a new three-year collective agreement was reached to avoid a strike against Xstrata Nickel, scheduled to start Thursday one minute past midnight.
The bargaining committee of Local 598 of Mine Mill/CAW unanimously recommended 1,000 members accept the tentative agreement only minutes before a strike was scheduled to begin.
After ironing out contract language that was at the heart of the difficult negotiations during the last several weeks, the bargaining committee for the union didn’t feel a strike was necessary when the monetary package they were seeking was presented by the company.
“Some of the guys aren’t going to be happy with the monetary, but we just didn’t feel going on strike was worth it,” said Rick Grylls, president of Local 598. “There comes a time when the company draws a line in the sand and says ‘take it or leave it’ and they had reached that point with the monetary package.”
The bargaining committee was successful in getting contract language improved with regards to key issues over job postings, job transfers, training and advancement for senior members and vacations, said Grylls.
“The workers told us clearly they wanted contract language that would make things better in the workplace...we got most of what we wanted,” he said.
Xstrata Nickel spokesperson Ian Hamilton said the company is very happy a deal has been reached. The company believes the three-year contract is fair and competitive and meets the needs of both the company and workers, he said.
He called the deal a good one for the company, members of Local 598 and this community.
Two membership meetings were scheduled Thursday with more than 1,000 workers expected to vote to ratify the deal at various Sudbury operations Friday.Grylls said highlights of the new deal include:
-An $8,000 signing bonus for all union members.
-A $1 per hour wage increase (60 cents, 20 cents, 20 cents) over the course of the deal.
-Slight improvements to benefit packages.
-Maintaining the current nickel bonus structure and cost of living allowance (COLA).
When Xstrata Nickel purchased Falconbridge Ltd. last fall, the company committed to no layoffs for at least three years.
There was no such promise in this deal, but the union isn’t worried at all, said Grylls.
Nickel prices remain at all-time highs and this company has, to its credit, committed huge dollars to the Nickel Rim project and other major projects, he said.
“This is the most positive market and set of circumstances we’ve had at Sudbury operations in the past 10 years,” he said.
While negotiations were often very difficult and some angry words were shared, Grylls credited Xstrata management for making a solid offer when it looked like another labour disruption was imminent.
This is the first time in a decade Local 598 has signed a contract without a labour stoppage. There was a three-week strike in 2004. A strike between Local 598 and Falconbridge Ltd. lasted seven months in 2000-01.
