The United Steel Workers of America has served 72 hr strike notice on Cominco Ltd. Shutdown of the company’s massive smelting and refining complex at Trail, B.C. was scheduled to begin Wednesday May 6 and total closure the following Saturday.
At presstime unionized workers were meeting to discuss the issues in the dispute which include an increase in work week from 37.5 to 40 hours for office and technical employees to the elimination of trade demarcation for production and maintenance workers. Apparently Cominco has not asked for any wage roll-back and indeed is rumoured to be willing to increase wages for productivity improvements.
Strike action would also effect demolition of Cominco’s lead smelter which will be replaced with an ultra-modern facility in the next few years. It would take about a week to reactivate the Trail metallurgical complex after it has been shut down.
Last October, a group made up of Teck Corp., M.I.M. Canada, (a subsidiary of M.I.M. Holdings) and Metallgesellschaft Canada purchased a 31% interest in Cominco. M.I.M.(or Mount Isa Mines) is a major zinc-lead-copper-silver producer in Australia. Some of its concentrate is refined by Metallgesellschaft in West Germany, both of whom would presumably benefit from any disruption in Cominco production.
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