Local 598, First Nickel reach tentative agreement

Mine Mill Local 598/CAW members vote tomorrow on whether to ratify a tentative agreement with First Nickel Inc.

That ratification vote is scheduled for July 9 at the Lionel Lalonde Centre in Azilda from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

No further details are available at this time. Members will be given details of the tentative agreement at tomorrow's meetings.

In mid-June, hours before the union's contract expired, Local 598 president Richard Paquin told NorthernLife.ca a new strike deadline of midnight July 12 was set, allowing more time for negotiations to take place.

The 105 First Nickel production and maintenance workers represented by Local 598 were previously supposed to go on strike when their contract expired.

They voted 98 per cent in favour of giving their union a strike mandate at a June 11 meeting.

At the time, Paquin said he couldn't provide any specific details about the negotiations, but said they've been going well.

“We've got most of the language issues resolved, and we're entering the monetary phase.”