A nearly year-long strike at Noranda‘s (NRD-T) Horne copper smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., has come to and end after 53.8% of 550 unionized production and maintenance workers voted in favour of a new three-year deal.
The new agreement, which expires March 1, 2006, includes an average wage increase of nearly 10% over the three years plus improvements to the benefits and pension programs. The deal also includes a special early-retirement plan.
Noranda says the deal allows for productivity gains and an increase of flexibility in the smelter’s daily operations.
Employees are expected to resume work in a few weeks.
The bitter dispute at Horne began in mid-June, when workers walked off the job after their union, Le syndicat des travailleurs de la Mine Noranda, and management failed to agree on terms of a new contract. Sticking points included job security, sub-contracting and health-and-safety guarantees. The old contract expired in February of 2002.
Noranda figures the strike cost it around $25 million pre-tax in 2002 plus another $10 million in the first quarter this year.
Strikers voted 73% against a previous Noranda offer that included a wage increase of 9.6% and a pension increase of 12.5% over three years.
In 2002, Horne produced 147,020 tonnes of copper anodes, down from 188,000 tonnes in the previous year.
Last month, 725 unionized workers at Noranda’s Brunswick zinc-lead mine near Bathurst, N.B., agreed to a contract including an average wage increase of 9.6% over its three-year term. That deal also includes improvements to the benefits and pension programs.
In 2002, the mine produced more than 277,000 tonnes of contained zinc in concentrate.
The mine employs around 950 people.
Noranda’s shares were off 3 at $12.28 in early trade in Toronto on May 8.
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