The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
UPDATE: A deal was reached about 7:45 a.m. Fri. Ratification meetings will be held at 1 and 7:30 p.m. at the Dowling Leisure Centre.
Negotiators for Xstrata Nickel and Mine Mill/C AW Local 598 were still bargaining in an effort to reach a new collective agreement at press time Thursday.
About a half-dozen workers began preparing the picket line outside the Falconbridge smelter at midnight when the last contract expired. Some employees said that as long as talks continued, it was good news. “We’re just going to wait it out,” said Raz Delmastro, a health and safety worker at the smelter.
When the last negotiations occurred between the union and Xstrata in 2010, talks continued until 5 a.m. before an agreement was reached. Earlier Thursday, Guy Desloges, Xstrata Nickel unit chair for Mine Mill, confirmed that bargaining was continuing.
He offered only a “no comment” when asked how talks are progressing, but said the union has completed its strike preparations in the event a new deal was not reached by 12:01 a.m. Friday, when its three-year contract with Xstrata Nickel expires
Local 598, which represents 860 miners, got 96% strike mandate from its members in vote held earlier this month.
For the rest of this article, please go to the Sudbury Star website: http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/01/31/xstrata-nickel-mine-mill-continue-talking