Rough trade

With the union’s rejection of management’s latest and “final” counter-offer on May 31, the two sides at BHP Billiton’s (BHP-N, BLT-L) Ekati diamond mine appear further apart than ever, more than eight weeks into the operation’s first strike.

The union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) claims that aspects of the company’s offer were “illegal,” and as a response, has filed unfair labour practice charges against BHP Billiton.

“BHP Billiton tried to remove in its last offer articles that had previously been agreed to and signed off by both sides,” said Jean-Franois Des Lauriers, PSAC executive vice-president north, in a statement.

Other problems the union has with the offer are the company’s insistence that union members who crossed the picket line (according to the company, about 40% of the bargaining unit’s 375 members) not be punished for doing so, demands that the union drop all grievances against the company, and changes in the ratification vote process that the union says violate the Labour Code.

The union claims that wage increases of 4% included in the company’s offer would not necessarily apply to striking workers.

The company rejected the union’s last offer on May 26, saying it didn’t meet the “flexibility requirements” of operating a mine in Canada’s Far North.

“After reviewing the PSAC offer, I don’t believe that the union executive understands how a Northern mining business operates or how private industry labour can effectively function in a competitive marketplace,” said Roy Lenardon, vice-president of human resources at Ekati in a press release.

Management at Ekati — a joint venture that is 80% owned by Australian diversified miner BHP Billiton and 10% each by geologists Charles Fipke and Stewart Blusson — says the union offer doesn’t allow the mine to promote or retain workers based on merit and performance — “a serious restriction on our ability to attract and retain the people best suited to a successful business.”

Another sticking point for management is the issue of “work ownership” — a concept whereby all team members must work co-operatively and be flexible. The union is arguing that employees’ work should be specific to a narrower task.

A spokesperson for Ekati, Deana Twissell, says that the team atmosphere at the mine would be threatened by such a task-specific approach.

“We strongly feel these concepts will prevent us from building a strong, lasting business with our various partners. It is not a sustainable model for Ekati,” Lenardon was quoted as saying.

The company says its latest proposal was meant to offer “world-class” compensation to its employees, while also honouring its obligations to aboriginal and Northern communities.

Twissell says those obligations — made when the mine was first being commissioned — would be threatened if the company implemented the type of seniority structure for which the union is arguing.

The company says the mine is still operating at full capacity with its existing employees, contract workers and alliance partners — without the use of replacement workers.

According to a release from the union, the main issues in dispute are salaries, job security, seniority and vacations.

In a recent victory for PSAC, an application to decertify the union was denied by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which indicates it has the support of a majority of its members. The application was filed shortly before the strike began on April 7.

Ekati is 300 km northeast of Yellowknife, N.W.T., and produces 6% of the world’s diamond supply by value.