Union rejects Northgate offer

Vancouver — Northgate Minerals (NGX-T) has temporarily shut down operations at its Kemess copper-gold mine, in north-central British Columbia, following its workforce’s rejection of a proposed labour agreement.

Despite a tentative agreement hammered out between the company and the bargaining committee of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115 in early February, workers at the Kemess mine voted against the offer.

The union’s bargaining committee had unanimously agreed to recommend acceptance of the new 3 year collective agreement to its membership.

With obvious disappointment, Northgate Minerals President and CEO Ken Stowe remarked “it’s not normal [when] an agreement that’s unanimously accepted by a bargaining committee elected by the membership is turned down — although we do have a history at Kemess, the last time we had three tentative agreements before we got one that stuck. Hopefully this next couple of days will enable everybody to get [a deal] done.”

About 260 production and maintenance personnel at Kemess are represented by the union.

Meanwhile at the Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine in central British Columbia, Taseko Mines (TKO-V) and its joint-venture partner, mining contractor Ledcor Mining, now know which union will be representing the majority of its 250 employees.

The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) was selected by 74% of Gibraltar employees. In September 2004, the CLAC ratified a collective agreement with Gibraltar mine operator Ledcor. About 79% of the workers at the mine are unionized.