Steelworkers to vote today on new deal
Voting results will be known around 6 p.m. today
The latest tentative agreement between the Steelworkers union and the Iron Ore Company of Canada was presented to union members Saturday at noon. Advance polls have started, and voting take place today at the union hall from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Union members went on strike nine weeks ago after two failed attempts to reach an agreement.
The latest tentative agreement is significantly different from the last one, and while both sides weren’t meeting face to face, work was going on behind the scenes.
Steelworkers Local 5795 president Ron Thomas said in an interview that after the rejection of the offer in March he and the vice-president made it a point to visit the picket lines and ask members what their issues were.
He said among the issues were the layoff and recall of new hires after 48 hours, the 90-day probation period, and no hires being able to take vacation at peak times for the first two years, as well as concerns of the cap on medical benefits and issues with pensions.
Thomas said that efforts to resolve the dispute continued.
“We were in touch back and forth through the conciliator ... what the members would consider a fair agreement,” he said. “Those messages were passed on to the company, and we had constant contact with MHA Graham Letto.”
On May 22, the union received a message from the company
that it had a new offer.
Negotiations continued and on Friday a message on Facebook from the unions told members they had a new tentative agreement that was being recommended by all three Steelworkers union locals: Local 5795, Local 6731, the warehouse union at IOC in Labrador City, and Local 9344, representing about 320 IOC workers in Septiles, Que.
The warehouse and Sept-iles locals decided to strike in a show of solidarity for the members of Local 5795 who had several outstanding issues that were not affecting the other two locals.
Following the meetings Saturday, the Aurora visited the picket line at the main gate of IOC. Workers there said it was a good meeting and they were pleased with the improvements of the previous offer.
Although reluctant to say how
they would vote, it was obvious the mood at the picket line was lighter.
As workers digested the contents
of the handout of the latest tentative agreement, Thomas highlighted the changes:
Layoff and recall notices are now 14 days and not 48 hours;
New hires probation will be 60 days, down from the suggested 90, but not the existing 45 days;
New hires will not be able to take vacation at peak periods for two years (seniority would make it unlikely that new hires would be able to avail of vacation during that time under most circumstances anyway, according to Thomas);
The medical cap has increased from $40,000 to $45,000;
Every member and their dependent that exhausts this cap will still be covered for the life of the contract, for the next five years. Thomas points out this is the first increase since the 1990s;
Pension increases under the Hybrid system for Direct Contribution and Direct Benefit recipients;
Wage increases and increased other benefits.
Thomas says outstanding grievances will also be taken care of.
Following the meeting advance polls opened and today voting will be conducted at the Union Centre in Labrador West from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Voting results should be available by 6 p.m.
Thomas said he was told by IOC that depending on the demand there could even been some students hired for the summer. Returning strikers who had vacation plans for the summer have the option of cancelling those vacations.
“I’m impressed with the solidarity of the unions, the support of the community, the businesses ... Finally I can say this is a fair deal. It’s not 100 per cent of what we aimed for but it is a vast improvement over the offer that led us to strike late in March,” Thomas said.
A release from Heather Bruce-veitch, IOC’S director of communications and external relations, said the tentative agreement “provides competitive terms and conditions for employees, while allowing IOC to be a sustainable and competitive business.
“Sentiments that were heard by many union members, and by the general public, was the community was showing signs that the strike was having a huge effect on businesses and workers in the service and supply industries,” the release stated.