Elk Valley Coal workers ratify new contract
Hourly employees at Elk Valley Coal’s Elkview mine have ratified a five-year contract that will raise wages 21 percent over the life of the agreement, the union said on Tuesday.
The contract retroactive to November 2005 includes a C$4,500 per-employee signing bonus and a C$1,000 bonus that will be paid in January 2007, according to the United Steelworkers Union.
The more than 600 workers had complained that their previous contract was signed when world metallurgical coal prices were low, and left them with wages that were much lower than at Elk Valley’s other Canadian mines.
The Elkview mine near Sparwood, British Columbia is Elk Valley Coal’s second largest metallurgical coal mine with an annual production capacity of about 6 million metric tons.
Elk Valley is owned by Teck Cominco and Fording Canadian Coal Trust .
(Reuters)
