Workers at two uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan have voted in favour of strike action.
United Steelworkers members at Cameco’s Key Lake and McArthur Lake mines voted 97 per cent in favour of a strike. Their last collective agreement expired Dec. 31, 2009.
The strike vote was conducted during the last two weeks and the results were tallied Sunday.
"This is a very strong mandate for our negotiating position," said union spokesperson Randy Gatzka. "It should send a strong message to the company that they need to put a serious offer on the table."
Gatzka said the union hopes to come to an agreement with Cameco without having to strike. Retiree benefits have been one sticking point in negotiations, he said.
Cameco spokesperson Rob Gereghty wouldn’t comment on specifics of the negotiations, but said the company is ready to meet with the union.
"We’re disappointed the union membership rejected Cameco’s offer and held a strike vote," he said. "We are ready to meet . . . and we are hopeful we can reach an agreement."
The union won’t be in a legal strike position until Oct. 22, said Gereghty.
There are 529 employees at the two mines in the United Steelworkers bargaining unit: 271 at McArthur Lake and 258 at Key Lake. An additional 289 salaried workers are employed at the two mines.
There has never been a strike at the two mines, said Gereghty.
Cameco, one of the world’s largest uranium producers, has its head office in Saskatoon. The McArthur River and Key Lake mines are located 620 kilometres and 570 km north of Saskatoon, respectively. Together, they accounted for about 14.5 per cent of world uranium production in 2009.
Comments