Trail strike leads to force majeure

With 1,235 unionized production and maintenance workers walking recently erected picket lines, Teck Cominco (TEK-T) has shut down, and declared force majeure on all metal and chemical products sales at its Trail lead and zinc smelting operations in British Columbia.

The company says that deliveries will continue until inventories are depleted; concentrates will continue to be received and stored.

Members of United Steelworkers of America Locals 480 and 9705 began their strike action on July 19 after negotiations broke off on July 14. The workers’ old four-year labour pact expired on May 31.

The company says that it has offered wage increases of 8% over three years plus a 6% increase in pensions. In the end, the offer would boost the average wage to $27 per hour from about $25 per hour over the three-year contract.

“We believe our offer is very realistic and will result in significant gains for our unionized employees,” said Teck spokesperson Mark Edwards in a prepared statement. “We remain open to a resumption of productive bargaining.”

The company and union have agreed to maintain essential services at the operation, including the provision of drinking water to local communities and environmental monitoring.

Teck plans to offset the financial impact of the strike by selling power from its Waneta hydroelectric dam on the nearby Pend Oreille River; the dam normally powers the smelter.

The Trail operation was last hit by a strike in 1990.

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