A date has not yet been set to restart negotiations between Vale Inco and Steelworkers Local 6500, but union president John Fera said he is hopeful they will resume soon.
On May 17, the Ontario Labour Relations Board directed the two parties to restart negotiations, preferably with the assistance of mediator Kevin Burkett.
However, they have been asked to set aside the issue of whether nine union members, who have been fired during the strike because of alleged incidents on the picket line, will be able to return to work.
Once the parties have worked out their differences on most of the major issues, if they aren’t able to resolve the recall of workers, they have been directed to return to the labour board.
Fera said Burkett will likely be contacting both sides in the coming days to work out a negotiation schedule.
The Steelworkers’ lawyer, Brian Shell, previously told Northern Life that he hoped negotiations would restart as early as this week.
The union argued before the labour relations board, May 14, that the issue of the nine fired union members should be dealt with separately from the rest of its bargaining in bad faith complaint against the company.
The union had asked for, and received, an expedited hearing on the matter. However, the ruling the labour relations board gave “wasn’t everything (the Steelworkers) wanted,” Fera said.
“We were hoping that the issue with the discharged members would be dealt with by the board. I thought it was positive that they said for both parties to get back to the table ... We’ve always said we want to talk, and the company says they want to talk.”
Vale Inco spokesperson Steve Ball said the company argued at the May 14 labour relations board hearing that there wasn’t sufficient grounds to deal with the issue of the nine fired workers separately. “The labour relations board has obviously agreed,” he said.
Ball said when negotiations resume, the company expects that all of the unresolved issues between the two parties will be discussed.
“Since the start of the strike, we’ve maintained we’ve been open to productive and meaningful conversations with the Steelworkers to find a way to resolve it, and that hasn’t changed.”
The two parties have engaged in two sets of negotiations since Local 6500 members went on strike more than 10 months ago, but these talks failed to garner a deal. The latest set of negotiations took place about two weeks ago.
Fera said the issue of the nine fired workers is just one of the areas where the two parties have been unable to come to an agreement.
“The company has made the discharge (of the workers) a large issue,” he said. “The company has said no to them ever getting arbitration (over whether the fired workers will be re-hired after the strike).
“Our members have to know that it’s one of several issues that we’ve been trying to get resolved.”
Following the latest set of failed talks, union members and community members blockaded Vale Inco property for several days.
The company has now brought six union members, Steelworkers Local 6500 and Steelworkers International to court.
The first court date was held May 17. Another court date to deal with the matter is scheduled for May 21.
Vale Inco is attempting to persuade Justice Robbie Gordon to find the union members and their union in contempt of court regarding an injunction governing picket line protocol.
The injunction “said our plants would not be blockaded,” Ball said.
The six union members who have been brought to court, were read the injunction by the sheriff during the blockade, but ignored it, he said.
Ball said the company has suggested that a fine in the “hundreds of thousands” be imposed on the union, and fines in the “thousands” be imposed on the individual union members.
Fera said the company’s latest court action against the union is more of the same.
“We’re disappointed that the company is keen on retaliation, but not so keen on negotiation,” he said.
