Inco inks Thompson pact (September 23, 2002)

Members of the United Steelworkers of America local 6166, at Inco‘s (N-T) operations in Thompson, Man., have approved a 3-year collective agreement.

In a press release, the union says the deal “significantly increases pensions, boosts wages by an average of 4.3%, and improves coverage for accident and sickness.”

Under the agreement, retiring workers with 30 years of service will receive a pension of $3,000 per month. Benefits for workers off as a result of sickness or accident increase to $575 per week for a maximum of 104 weeks, from $450 for 52 weeks.

Also under the deal, a savings fund plan that had been cut back in the previous contract has been reinstated at a payment based on 2% of base wages.

The union says that by the end of the new contract, which expires in September 2005, the average wage would be around $25 an hour. That average could be boosted by as much as $1.32 per hour, depending on the cost-of-living adjustment.

Inco’s 145,000-tonne-per-year nickel plant at Thompson employs 1,400 people, of whom 1,000 are represented by the union. The operation churns out more than 45,000 tonnes of nickel annually.

Meanwhile, in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, Inco has halted work at its US$1.4-billion Goro nickel-cobalt laterite project after minor demonstrations by several local contractors and suppliers. The disruption is not expected to affect the project’s 2004 startup date.

At presstime, the two were headed into talks aimed at resuming work on the project.

Inco spokesman Steve Mitchell tells Reuters that construction is about to enter a key phase, focused on the commercial processing plant and associated facilities, and that the company wants to avoid any further disruptions.

At full steam, Goro will produce 54,000 tonnes of nickel and 5,400 tonnes of cobalt per year. The project is expected to provide 800 permanent jobs plus some 1,500 indirect jobs.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., Inco has filed to sell US$300 million worth of debentures due in 2032. Merrill Lynch will act as book-running, co-lead manager; Salomon Smith Barney is the other co-lead manager. Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley are the other co-managers.

The nickel miner plans to use the US$296 million in net proceeds to fund existing operations.