Vale tentative agreement includes retirement benefits for new hires
The union representing more than 2,400 striking workers at Vale has released some details of a tentative agreement members will be reviewing Tuesday.
Negotiators for Steelworkers Local 6500 say they are unanimously recommending members accept the five-year agreement. The contract includes retirement benefits for new hires, a key sticking point in the labour dispute.
"After two weeks of challenging negotiations, your bargaining committee believes we have achieved this objective," said a post on the union's website.
"This tentative agreement includes significant monetary improvements for existing members and preserves retiree health benefits for all future hires."
It also includes wage increases of 1.5 per cent in the first and last year of the deal, with one per cent increases in years 2-4. Members would also receive a $2,500 "recognition payment" to recognize members' "efforts last year during the pandemic and the acceptance of a status quo contract."
A signing bonus of $3,500 would be paid 30 days after the agreement is ratified.
Workers rejected the last contract offer from the company at the end of May, which was also recommended by the bargaining committee.
Workers were praised for taking a "principled" stand to protect the retirement benefits for future employees, and the bargaining committee said it "energized" them to strike a better agreement.
"Your bargaining committee is positive we could not have reached this settlement without your incredible support and the principled stand you took throughout this difficult process," the union said Tuesday.
"We believe this tentative agreement is worthy of your USW Local 6500 solidarity and values and we are unanimously recommending ratification."
The union is holding information sessions Tuesday on the new contract offer. Three meetings are scheduled – at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. All meetings will be held on Zoom, as well as at Steelworkers Hall.
Members who attend the meetings in person are being reminded masks are mandatory, and a maximum of 260 people can be in the hall, because of COVID-19 restrictions.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.