A Background On The Dispute

"Vale is extremely profitable but is using the economic environment to undercut new workers' pensions and slash profit sharing in good times."  - John Feda, 6500 President

Workers Uniting is supporting the campaign of the Vale Inco miners.

Vale Inco demanded dramatic long-term concessions from the workers at Vale Inco. The Brazilian owned multinational is insisting on a two-tiered pension plan that will deny all new workers access to the current plan. Vale’s major focus is directed at slashing the ‘nickel bonus’, a profit-sharing mechanism designed to pay workers a small share of the profits in good economic times, and pay nothing during bad economic times.

Even though the nickel bonus currently pays nothing (and hasn’t ever since the onset of the recession), the Brazilian owners have made this the centrepiece element of their demands. However, more than pension and bonus concessions, Vale is also demanding a wage freeze, attacks on seniority and many other “take aways”.

To learn more about the campaign to protect the future of the workers in Vale Inco you can view a short report on You Tube :


 

Workers Uniting see this a clear attempt to bash the United Steelworkers Union

The demands by multinational Vale are not directed at the current economic conditions.

This fact is underscored by the massively profitable situation of Vale Inco. Last year, Vale make $13.2 Billion U.S. in profit (that is 2008 after-tax profit). They are currently sitting on $22 Billion U.S. in cash assets (as of March 31st 2009). In fact, in the two years Vale has owned Inco, they have extracted more than twice as much profit from their Ontario operations than Inco made in the previous ten (10) years! (They made $4.1 Billion U.S. Ontario profit in 2006-2008.)

The demands by multinational Vale are geared to destroy the years of respectful, stable, mutually beneficial labour relations built up over decades in Canada.

Vale wants all their workers around the world to rush to the bottom.

As Steve Ball, Vice President of Vale puts it: “Vale wants a unified approach to profitability and incentive compensation across all its business units.”

This suggests they want Canadian workers and Canadian communities to forget about the middle class life, the healthy communities, and any decent future for our hardworking Canadian families.

Vale is insisting on “a unified approach to profitability and incentive compensation” with their many operations in Mongolia, Thailand, China, India, Peru, and Brazil. Vale wants every country to race to the bottom to match countries that often have virtually no labour, environmental and/or human rights protection.

Unions are about decency, respect and safety for the workers, security and fairness for our families, and prosperity for our communities. A race to strip these from our workers, families and communities, is an attempt to bash the union.

Our fight is for our communities, our families and future workers.

These demands are an attempt by Vale Inco to “squeeze the blood out of our members,” said Wayne Fraser, United Steelworkers District 6 Director.

Show your support

You can send a personal message of support or a message from your union branch to the Canadian miners and their families through the Workers Uniting website, simply click here.

The email address for messages of support is: info@fairdealnow.ca

Read the strike letter...