USW Hopeful Bargaining with Vale Can Resume in Voisey's Bay

Vale Inco appears willing to move away from its previous negotiating position

GOOSE BAY, NL, Jan. 19 /CNW/ - Negotiations may be about to resume in one of the most contentious labour battles in recent Newfoundland & Labrador history. Vale Inco presented a counter proposal to USW Local Union 9508, which represents the workers at Voisey's Bay, NL.

USW negotiator Boyd Bussey is hopeful that Vale Inco's counter offer is a conciliatory move that recognizes some of the Local Union's bargaining proposals and that meaningful negotiations may now be possible. Bussey is guardedly optimistic that Vale Inco has begun to move away from its previous position of just concessionary demands. However, he believes much work is needed to conclude a satisfactory agreement which addresses the most important outstanding issues between the parties.

Bussey and the Local Union 9508 Negotiating Committee worked late into the night on Monday and most of today studying the Vale Inco counter proposal. While the Vale counter proposal falls short in some areas it does provide a starting point. The Union Negotiating Committee will be contacting Vale Inco this afternoon to set up dates to resume negotiations.

Currently, there are over 4,000 Vale Inco workers represented by the United Steelworkers in Canada. Nearly all these workers have been on strike for over 6 months in the communities of Sudbury, Port Colborne and Voisey's Bay.

For further information: Boyd Bussey, Steelworkers, [phone], [phone], [email protected]; Wayne Fraser, Steelworkers D6 Director, [phone], [email protected]