Horne employees walk out

Unionized employees at Noranda’s Horne copper smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., walked off the job in mid-June.

In late May, the smelter’s 510 employees voted in favour of a strike. The previous collective agreement expired in February.

“The walkout was a surprise to us,” says Mario Chapados, the smelter’s general manager in a release. “The negotiations were progressing well under a newly appointed conciliator, and the latest communications from the union to its membership and to the media appeared positive.”

Chapados adds that the company was willing to restart negotiations.

The Horne smelter produced 188,000 tonnes of copper in 2001 but is being operated at reduced capacity.

Noranda is considering its options to lessen the impact on its suppliers and customers.