Vale Inco ‘slashing and burning’ labour relations - Leo Gerard

The strike caused by Vale Inco’s refusal to negotiate for the last seven months regardless of the Steelworkers’ modest proposals, and their insistence on the imposition of their sub-standard global labour practices, will be remembered as an assault on Canadian workers, Canadian values and Canadian labour standards.

There are many “firsts” in this strike that have so many shaking their heads at Vale’s antics. The unusual continual barrage of anti-union pronouncements and unfounded criminal accusations against rank-and-file union members, Vale’s poison pen, full-page ads, their provocation, antagonism and intimidation aimed at sparking a reaction from angry strikers to further feed their union-busting efforts. And of course, their incomprehensible efforts to operate the mines, mill and smelter with unwilling but forced office and technical union members, frustrated management employees, and imported out-of-province and perhaps out-of-country scab workers. All of this, it appears, to try to weaken or break the union, rather than negotiate.

It is difficult to believe that their Sudbury operations spokesman, Steve Ball, and his vitriolic pronouncements, really represent a company as huge as Vale Inco and its parent company. Contrary to all the usual rules of seeking an amicable negotiated agreement, this solitary spokesman, and a small group of multiple-identity anti-union bloggers, continually publicly berate and belittle union members (their employees) while also attempting to divide the community.

Mr. Ball also publicly criticized fellow nickel producer Xstrata as a “slash and burn” operation. Surely, somewhere within Vale’s upper echelons there are more responsible executives who realize that it appears as if Vale is indeed “slashing and burning” its own operation, along with its reputation, labour relations, employee loyalty and future success in Sudbury and in Canada.

It seems that Mr. Ball and his local associates are angry with Xstrata for having the gall to be good corporate citizens who recognized the union’s reasonable proposals and negotiated a fair agreement. Even with a long history of the two mining companies having similar agreements, and Vale being much more profitable lately, Vale’s Steve Ball claims that the two companies are now different “business models” and they cannot follow suit.

What utter balderdash!

Mr. Ball’s highly publicized announcements of imaginary matte shipments to Clydach, Wales, which coincided with news of the Xstrata offer acceptance, probably has two spurious purposes. One is to further antagonize Steelworkers, his fellow employees, into a reaction that he could use to further inflame the situation and defame the union and its members.

Secondly, to try to make the community believe that Vale can operate without 3,300 production and maintenance employees, members of Local 6500 USW. He is not succeeding.

More and more people are questioning who in Vale’s hierarchy is authorizing this acrimonious anti-progress spokesman to destroy the half-century of dedicated effort by both parties in developing a labour relations system that encompassed mutual respect and the desire to work out differences for the good of the company, the workers and the community?

Who authorizes Mr. Ball to belittle and berate fellow employees, to make unproven accusations, to buy full page poison-pen newspaper ads, to continually provoke and antagonize?

Who authorizes Mr. Ball to attempt to destroy the rapport that has been built through the years between the union and the community? Who authorizes Mr. Ball to try to destroy the tried and true Canadian system of collective bargaining, as demonstrated by Xstrata, by substituting it with a “my way or the highway” imposition of “changes” and refusing to listen to or consider the union’s proposals? Surely, there must be cooler, more thoughtful persons in the senior ranks of such a large and profitable company.

Respected business commentator Marilyn Scales voiced the opinion of many in Canadian business and professional circles in a recent issue of Canadian Mining Perspective:

“In my opinion, Vale Inco has worked itself into a corner. It refuses to soften its position on bonuses and pensions, saying it has to bring its Canadian contracts into line with its ‘international culture.’ Therefore, the company has tarred itself with the same brush so feared when it took over Inco – that foreign owners would be no friends of Canadian workers. That sets labour relations back more than 30 years.”

This strike will be settled some day. The Steelworkers and the labour movement in Canada and internationally will never be broken and will not capitulate to one-way “bargaining.” Employees will, at some point, be able to return to work with dignity and pride. But what will be the Vale employees’ opinion and feeling for their employer when they do eventually return to work? What can Vale expect after Steve Ball’s regular diatribes aimed at destroying whatever employee good will and trust once existed?

Both our provincial and federal governments have not come to grips with the severity and future effects of Vale’s labour culture, and it’s time they stepped up to the plate. Ontario needs anti-scab laws, such as those that exist in the province of Quebec. Surely our provincial government, the custodian of our mineral resources, must get involved for the sake of the community, to save Ontario’s reputation and to promote labour/management stability.

The federal government must protect our resources and workers by instituting a National Mining Strategy. The sale of our resources to foreign companies must be open to public scrutiny and allowed only with a clear, sustained benefit to Canadians.

Contrary to Industry Minister Tony Clement’s description, here’s how Canadian Mining Perspective’s Marilyn Scales accurately describes Vale’s acquisition of Inco: “…in late 2006 Vale...won a bidding war for Inco. In a deal worth US$16.7 billion, Vale edged out Falconbridge, Phelps Dodge and Teck Cominco for the prized nickel producer.

Canadians bemoaned the fact that control of such world class assets – in Sudbury, ON, in Thompson, MB, and the new Voisey’s Bay mine in Labrador – were in foreign hands, but Vale made promises that it would not lay off any workers for three years, and other reassuring noises. Vale’s reassurances were worthless. In March 2009, the company said it would be laying off 423 workers in Canada, including 261 in Sudbury. The next month Vale announced it would be shutting down its mining and mineral processing operations in Sudbury for eight weeks, beginning June 1. Workers were not feeling very kindly toward Vale when the current strike began on July 13, 2009.”

Vale has surely broken many of the dozens of promises it made to Canada, but the feds continue to cover up their mistake by refusing to discuss the agreement, or to make it public. It’s time the feds spoke up for Canadian workers getting shafted.

Eventually this dispute will only be settled through negotiations as the union recommended from day one. Sooner would have been better than later for our community, and our members, as well as for Vale.

If Xstrata can do it, so can Vale. Now is the opportune time for Vale’s top executives to start repairing the untold damage that it has done to its employee and community relations, and join with us in the Canadian way of negotiating a fair collective agreement.

Leo Gerard worked at Inco starting in 1965, where he started his 40-year union career. He has been the United Steelworkers international president of the 850,000 member union since 2001.