About 510 unionized employees at Noranda‘s (NRD-T) Horne copper smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., have hit the picket lines.
Company spokesman Denis Couture told Reuters, the employees went on strike on Tuesday to force action on contract demands concerning subcontracting.
The smelter’s general manager Mario Chapados said in a prepared statement, “The walk-out is a surprise to us. 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 very positive. We are ready and willing to resume the negotiations process at any time.”
The employees are represented by Le Syndicat des travailleurs de la Mine Noranda, which is affiliated with the Confederation des syndicats nationaux. The previous labour agreement expired on Feb. 28, 2002.
The smelter is currently being run at a reduced level by management and non-unionized employees. In 2001, the smelter produced 188,000 tonnes of copper.
Couture said, “We can’t run the smelter at full capacity,” adding the operations were running well below half of normal capacity.
The company says the strike is certain to impact on its customers and that it would decide later in the day whether to declare force majeure.
After recovering slightly after the news, Noranda’s shares were off 4 at $19.70 in mid-afternoon trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
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