Production and maintenance employees at Falconbridge‘s (FL-T) Kidd Creek metallurgical copper-zinc operation in Timmins, Ont., have ratified a new three-year labour pact.
The new deal includes a wage increase of about $2 per hour over the contract term, plus a signing bonus of $2,000, reports Reuters. Falconbridge says the cash bonuses equate to the cost of shutting down the facility had a strike been launched.
Eighty-nine percent of the 674 employees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers Local 599 approved the new deal during a day-long vote on Saturday. The new deal takes effect on Oct. 1; the previous contract was set to expire on Sept. 30.
During the three months ended June 30, the Kidd Creek division suffered an operating loss of $18 million. The mine and metallurgical plant cranked out 11,152 tonnes of copper cathode, 26,858 tonnes zinc and 774,000 oz. of silver. The loss is attributed to a 15% reduction in realized zinc prices and fewer custom feed contracts.Overall, Falconbridge’s second-quarter earnings were about $41 million (or 21 per fully diluted share) on revenue of $634 million, compared with nearly $56 million (30 per share) on $570 million in the corresponding period of 2001. The year-ago period includes $20-million tax benefit from an adjustment to future tax rates in Ontario.
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