A union spokesman for Inco’s 3,300 workers at the main milling complex in Sudbury, Ont., says talks are “moving ahead” but that wages and pensions have yet to be discussed. The current contract expires May 31.
The Sudbury operation produced 101,700 tonnes nickel and 103,500 tonnes copper in 2002.
“We’re still optimistic we can get a deal by the end of the month,” says Wayne Fraser, a spokesman for the United Steelworkers of America.
So far, discussions have focused on job security and regional investment. The union wants assurances the company will re-invest in operations in northern Ontario and not direct all its resources to the Goro nickel-laterite project in Indonesia and the Voisey’s Bay nickel project in Labrador.
Meanwhile, the union wants higher pensions. About 1,500 workers, or nearly half of Inco’s workforce in Sudbury, become eligible for pensions in the next three years.
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