Brunswick employees ratify 3-year contract

Employees at the Brunswick lead-zinc smelter in Belledune, N.B., have voted 69% in favour of a 3-year collective agreement that contains no wage increases and will see the smelter shut down for four months of the year, beginning in July.

Noranda is losing money at the smelter and was considering either closing it or cutting jobs. However, there is enough lead-silver concentrate from the nearby Brunswick mine to keep the smelter running for another five years.

The agreement bolsters buyout and benefits packages. Between 60 and 70 employees are eligible for the retirement buyout, according to which an employee with 20 years experience would receive a wage of roughly $900 per month, plus a supplement.

At the end of each year of the agreement, if the company wants to lay off a given number of employees, it must first offer a buyout to a similar number of employes. Employees will receive benefits during the four months the smelter is shut down.

Noranda wanted remove the language in the contract prohibiting outside contractors, but the union refused.

“We wanted to make sure we had protection for our members, but we allowed Noranda the flexibility it needed to ensure the smelter would be viable,” says union spokesman Marie Kelly.

The smelter employs 350 members of the United Steelworkers of America local 7085. In 2002, the Brunswick smelter produced 100,000 tonnes lead and alloys, and 12 million oz. silver.