2009–2010 Vale Inco Strike
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2009–2010 Vale Inco strike was a
labour dispute A labor dispute is a disagreement between an employer and employees regarding the terms of employment. This could include disputes regarding conditions of employment, fringe benefits, hours of work, tenure, and wages to be negotiated during co ...
in
Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed after ...
and
Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury, is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the List of the largest cities and t ...
which lasted from July 13, 2009 to July 8, 2010. Striking workers were part of
United Steel Workers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...
Local 6500. It was the longest strike in Canadian history at the time, surpassing the 1978 Inco strike. The strike ended after 75% of the workers voted to ratify a new contract that would earn them a $2.46 cumulative hourly wage increase over the following four years and up to $4000 in back-to-work bonuses. The strike included multiple lawsuits which parties agreed to drop after the strike concluded.


Background

Vale S.A. Vale (), formerly ''Companhia Vale do Rio Doce'' (Doce River Valley Company), is a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil. Vale is the largest producer of iron ore an ...
is a large mining company based in Brazil, employing over 100,000 people internationally with Canadian nickel mining operations supplying over 10% of the world's nickel. Before 2006, the Canadian operations were run by Inco Ltd. which was subsequently purchased by Vale. The name Inco was dropped during the 2009–2010 strike in favour of
Vale Canada Vale Canada Limited (formerly Vale Inco, CVRD Inco and Inco Limited; for corporate branding purposes simply known as "Vale" and pronounced in English) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale's nickel mining and ...
. Vale's portfolio of Canadian operations includes six nickel mines in Sudbury.


Strike

Vale workers went on strike on 13 July 2009. Tensions were high during the strike with the union accusing Vale of bargaining in bad faith, and Vale suing the union over incidents the company alleged occurred on the picket line. During the strike, Vale used its office, clerical and technical employees who were not striking with the union as
strikebreakers A strikebreaker (sometimes pejoratively called a scab, blackleg, bootlicker, blackguard or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers may be current employees ( union members or not), or new hires to keep the org ...
in order to resume operations. The resumed operations continued to significantly under-perform prior years. During the negotiations, Vale argued that cutting labour costs was necessary in order for the company to remain competitive in the industry. Workers argued in-turn that the company has billions of dollars in yearly revenue, and as such, did not necessarily need concessions from workers.


Outcome

The strike was concluded on 8 July 2010 after 75% of the striking workers voted to approve a new contract. The workers intended to return to work within six weeks following the contract's ratification. The 2009–2010 Vale Inco strike was the longest strike in the history of Inco's operations, surpassing the 1987–1979 Inco strike which had lasted only nine months. The 2009–2010 strike lasted about a year. Among the company's concessions in the new contract were a large back-to-work bonus and incremental raises. Workers would each receive a $2000 bonus for ratifying the contract, and the company offered an additional $2000 bonus if the mines' capacity returned to 95% of their full capacity for 42 days within six months of the contract's ratification. Additionally, workers would receive a cumulative $2.46 hourly raise by 2014. The new agreement also included a provision for all lawsuits initiated during the strike to be dropped. The new contract would move workers from a defined-benefit pension plan to a defined-contribution plan. Whereas their defined-benefit plan guaranteed steady income in retirement, the new defined-contribution plan would be affected by market returns. In exchange, workers who were employed by Vale at the time of the ratification would receive a boosted post-retirement income and an improved long-term disability plan.


Response

At the time, the strike raised questions about the responsibilities of foreign companies purchasing Canadian assets.


See also

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Timeline of labour in Greater Sudbury The following is a timeline of the history of labour organizations in communities in and around Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Listings for incorporated townships which were later amalgamated with the City of Sudbury are noted separately. 18 ...
*
Economy of Greater Sudbury The economy of Greater Sudbury, Ontario was dominated by the mining industry for much of the city's history. In recent decades, however, the city has diversified to establish itself as an emerging centre in a variety of industries, including finan ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-2010 Vale Inco strike 2009 labor disputes and strikes 2010 labor disputes and strikes History of Greater Sudbury Economy of Greater Sudbury 2009 in Ontario 2010 in Ontario Labour disputes in Ontario Miners' labour disputes in Canada Labor disputes led by the United Steelworkers Vale S.A.