Labor talks at Alcan's Alma aluminum smelter continue

Canadian aluminum major Alcan is continuing talks with union representatives from its 400,000 mt/year aluminum smelter in Quebec, Canada, according to a company spokesman. Union representatives continued to be unavailable for comment.

The two sides have been joined by a mediator in their talks. Talks broke down last week after the two failed to reach an agreement on a new labor contract. The current five-year contract expires on December 31.

The Alcan spokesman described the talks as "amicable." He said, "Hopefully, they [the talks] will be productive, but it's still too early to have a gauge in where they are."

He said the two sides are negotiating the length of the new contract. "We always look to ensure a long-term labor agreement," said the Alcan spokesman.

He added, "December 31 is rapidly approaching, so we'd like to have a positive outcome to the talks."

Officials from the United Steelworkers received a strike mandate from its 850 members last week, so the union is legally able to strike if an agreement is not reached by December 31. The spokesman said the main sticking points in the talks are compensation and job security.

He said Alcan has contingency plans in place in the event of a strike in which management is ready to take over the operations at the plant "for a period of time." He acknowledged this would impact production, "but by how much, we are not in a position to determine yet." One option would be to use
replacement workers to help maintain production levels. He said other smelters in the region might not be able to help out that much in the event of a strike at Alma since "they are also at full capacity."