Nickel miner Vale Inco confirms labour talks have broken down
TORONTO – Nickel miner Vale Inco has confirmed that mediated contract talks with its striking workers are over and that no new talks are in the works.
With failure to reach an agreement, a 10-month-old strike by more than 3,000 workers in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ont., will continue.
Members of the United Steelworkers union hit the picket lines over a number of issues including pensions, a nickel price bonus, seniority transfer rights and contracting out.
Vale Inco says those issues were discussed during the most recent round of talks with a mediator.
More than 200 Steelworkers in Voisey’s Bay, N.L., have been on strike since Aug. 1 over similar issues.
It was the second time negotiators have met to bargain since the strike began — 10 days of negotiations in early March failed to end the impasse and led to a rejection of Vale Inco’s offer of settlement.
