Williams tries inadvertent humour to help end Voisey’s Bay strike

When the threat of an industrial inquiry didn’t send the two sides scurrying back to the negotiating table, Danny Williams called the union and Vale Inco to his office on Friday in another effort to settle the 15 month old strike.

Industrial inquiries typically don’t work in labour disputes of this type that must be settled ultimately by an agreement.

Williams – who has been known to storm out of negotiations and engage in petty, vicious, personal attacks during negotiations or other disputes – claimed straight-facedly that he wanted “to try to be the voice of reason” with the two sides.

The provincial government has seen its mineral royalties plummet during the strike.

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Information expropriation: Premier threatens industrial inquiry over Voisey’s strike

Premier Danny Williams is warning both parties in the 14 month old strike at Voisey’s Bay that his administration will appoint and industrial inquiry commission under the province’s labour laws to settle the dispute if the parties can’t find agreement within 14 days.

Under the Labour Relations Act, the province’s labour minister may appoint a commission of as few as one person to inquire into a dispute under terms of reference set by the minister.

Some news reports refer to the purpose of the inquiry to "maintain and secure industrial peace." 

That’s not really the strength of the inquiry approach in this case.

The commission will operates with the powers of a conciliation board under the same act.  That’s an important step in the collective bargaining process the provincial government skipped in its sudden desire to intervene in the lengthy strike.

The real value of an inquiry for the provincial government  - as opposed to a simple conciliation board – is that the government alone controls not only the outcome but when and how the results of the inquiry investigations will go to the public.

Think of it as information expropriation and the threat is clear enough in the Premier’s comments:

“Why aren't they settling? Does the company have some reason it doesn't want to settle? Why did it settle in Sudbury and not settle in Newfoundland and Labrador?…

"If the union is getting some of the wage demands that it wants but not getting everything that it wants, is there some reason why the union is not settling? Is it personalities?"

With a conciliation board, the parties would settle the strike with the help of a government panel.  With an inquiry, there is the threat that one side or the other or maybe both will have their private information tossed into the public bear-pit. The government may not make the information public, though. They may just sit on it and use what they learn about the profitability of the company operation for their own purposes.

It’s not like they haven’t tried that sort of thing before with other companies. Anyone ever hear of the data room application?

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AB fishing camp mystery solved

As it turns out, the numbered company registered in Alberta that is buying a fishing camp in Labrador from AbitibiBowater for $1.4 million is connected to Chris Verbiski, one of the co-discoverers of the massive nickel and copper find at Voisey’s Bay.

1512513 Alberta Ltd. lists its business address at the same downtown St. John’s office suite occupied by Verbiski’s Coordinates Capital Corporation. The office outside the province in the corporate register (above) is for a Calgary law firm.

A 2009 news release on Verbiski’s appointment to the board of International Royalty describes Coordinates Capital as a “private natural resource investment firm.”  The entry in the Newfoundland Labrador companies register lists Verbiski as the only director. 

The companies registry in Newfoundland and Labrador lists the same address for the numbered Alberta company and Coordinates Capital but gives a different contact name for the numbered company.

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Prov Gov appoints mediator in Vale strike

The provincial government today announced the appointment of Bill Wells as a mediator in the ongoing labour dispute at Voisey’s Bay.

The best they’d been willing to do before is strongly encourage both sides to get back to the table.  The most recent example of that was in June, 2010.

So what happened recently for government to change its approach?

Money might be getting tighter as we come up on the half-way point in the fiscal year.

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Tentative deal at Vale in Ontario

From the Globe and Mail:

The end to a long-running and bitter strike in Ontario is in sight as mining giant Vale announced it reached a tentative agreement with production and maintenance workers on Sunday.

The metals miner says the agreement involves a new five-year contract with United Steel Workers Locals 6500 and 6200, which represent production and maintenance employees in Sudbury and Port Colborne.

No word on Sunday about a possible settlement of the year-long strike at Vale Inco’s Voisey’s bay operation.

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Sudbury workers on strike

Vale Inco’s unionized employees in Sudbury hit the picket line Monday after 85% rejected the company’s latest contract offer in voting on the weekend.

According to the Globe and Mail:

At issue was Vale's proposal to reduce a bonus tied to the price of nickel.

In addition, workers opposed a plan by the company to exempt new employees from its defined-benefit pension plan, which guarantees employees a reliable and steady income after retirement.

The company is proposing to provide them with a defined-contribution plan, which bases retirement benefits on investment returns.

Employees at the company's Voisey's Bay operations in Labrador voted 99 per cent against the same offer on Wednesday and are set to begin a strike on Aug. 1.

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Strike looming at Sudbury and Voisey’s Bay

Unionized workers at Voisey’s Bay voted on the weekend to reject a contract offer by the employer Vale.

A vote at Vale’s Sudbury operation is also expected to reject the contract, according to the Globe and Mail.

Workers could strike as of August 1.

Related:  Vale chief executive Roger Agnelli has described Vale’s Sudbury operation as unsustainable at current cost levels.

 

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