Xstrata and union strike a deal

Picketing employees in the month-long strike at Xstrata Copper’s Kidd Creek Metallurgical Site are one step closer to getting back to work. Canadian Auto Workers Local 599 announced at about 9 p.m. Wednesday its bargaining committee had reached a tentative deal with Xstrata Copper. A ratification meeting is scheduled for noon today for union members at the McIntyre Community Centre in Schumacher. After rejecting a contract offer in late September, 675 production and maintenance workers voted to strike at the met site. Workers have been on strike since Oct. 1. Talks resumed between the union’s bargaining committee and Xstrata management on Tuesday. “CAW Local 599 and Xstrata Copper Canada have reached a tentative agreement after two days of bargaining,” the union stated in a press release issued on Wednesday night. “The union bargaining committee is unanimously recommending acceptance of their tentative agreement.” Ben Lefebvre, bargaining committee chairman for CAW Local 599, said he could not provide any details of the contract when contacted by The Daily Press. “There will be no details available until the contract is ratified,” he said. Lefebvre said the union’s membership will be informed of the contract’s details during today’s ratification meeting. During the strike, however, the website operated by Local 599 listed several shortfalls in the previous contract offer. It listed the need for more funds for a tool allowance, shift premium improvements matching the increase at the mine site and a Sunday premium increase from $1 per hour to $2, as well as extended health care improvements and an increase in the short-term disability rate. The union also proposed shift workers be allowed off on statutory holidays and suggested a small, one-time “special trades increase” to deal with the retention and attraction of skilled trades personnel. www.timmispress.com