ABI unionized workers to vote Monday on company offer to end lockout
Posted March 5, 2019 7:56 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BECANCOUR, Que. — Employees of the ABI aluminum smelter in Becancour, Que., will vote Monday on a contract offer from the company to end a 14-month lockout.
The United Steelworkers Local 9700 will meet in the afternoon to review and discuss the offer that includes three collective agreements covering more than 1,000 workers, as well as a return-to-work protocol.
Local union president Clement Masse says the union’s bargaining committee has concluded that the company’s proposal is very similar to what was on the table when ABI broke off negotiations in mid-February.
A return-to-work protocol was not part of previous discussions between the parties, he added in a news release.
Masse says the vote will be held by secret ballot in the interest of transparency.
ABI’s 1,030 workers were locked out by smelter co-owners Alcoa and Rio Tinto on Jan. 11, 2018.
The Canadian Press
