CP strike has Vale examining rail options

A strike by Canadian Pacific Railroad (CP) workers is forcing international nickel miner Vale to make alternative transport arrangements for nickel mined at the company's Sudbury operations, the company's vice-president of corporate affairs said.

Cory McPhee told Northern Life newspaper that the strike is affecting operations in Sudbury and in Thompson, Manitoba. Vale uses CP to move nickel concentrate from its Voisey's Bay operation in Labrador to Sudbury and Thompson for processing. Finished product is then transported by CP to ports in Montreal and Vancouver.
"This is a critical part of our supply chain,” McPhee said. “There are contingencies in place, but it's not the normal course of doing business, so we would like to see a resolution to this strike as soon as possible.”
Those contingencies include using other rail carriers and trucks to move material.
“We would like to see a resolution quickly, but obviously that's out of our control,” McPhee said.

In a May 23 release, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) said the strike will have a significant economic impact on mining communities and urged Ottawa to take immediate action to resolve the labour dispute.
“A strike by CP workers will have a serious effect on the industry,” said association president and CEO Pierre Gratton. “The shipment of fuel and other supplies to mine sites will be compromised as is the transport of mineral products.”
The association contends that the strike will cause a shortfall of essential fuel and supply shipments to mines, the delivery of product to customers, and will impact the industry's ability to operate at any functional capacity.

Federal labour minister Lisa Raitt said she is ready to introduce back-to-work legislation as early as May 28.
According to MAC, the Canadian mining industry accounts for more than 50 per cent of the annual freight revenues of Canada’s rail system.
The strike captain of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Local 308 in Sudbury said the union did not want to hit the picket lines, but after three months of negotiations and with no headway made, it was the only option left.

“We've been bargaining, but there's just no give on the company's side,” said Scott Graham said May 24.

The union's contract expired last January 1. Safety and proposed pension capping are the main sticking points.
The Teamsters said the two parties returned to the bargaining table on May 24.