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BHP Billiton - Ekati MineNovember 14, 2007Ekati Diamond Mine Workers, BHP Billiton Inc. reach tentative agreementThe union bargaining team is recommending that the members vote in favour of the offer. » June 30, 2006Collective agreement ratified at Ekati diamond mineYellowknife – PSAC members at Ekati diamond mine vote to ratify tentative agreement with Ekati owner BHP Billiton; ending a strike that began April 7 ends with first-ever union contract at a Canadian diamond mine and significant improvements for workers. Read the details. Additional information
ARCHIVESJune 13, 2006Dirty diamonds... No thanks!Ekati diamond workers are visiting union members across Canada to ask them to boycott dirty diamonds produced by BHP. Here are some of the current activities:
June 8, 2006Ken Georgetti, CLC President in Yellowknife on June 9
May 31, 2006Negotiations broke off at Ekati diamond mine
May 24, 2006
May 4, 2006$55,000 for Ekati mine workers from PSAC delegates in Toronto
April 28, 2006Strike at the Ekati diamond mine
April 7, 2006PSAC to fight decertification application at Ekati
EKATI diamond mine on strike!
April 6, 2006Ekati Mine: Another Reason Workers Demand Anti-Scab Legislation
April 3, 2006PSAC files complaint of unfair labour practice against BHP Billiton
March 31, 2006Yellowknife and Toronto: 2 cities, one demonstration for Ekati workers
March 27, 2006Yellowknife , NWT
March 23, 2006The PSAC warns BHP Billiton: Don’t use scab labour at the Ekati diamond mine.
March 31, 2006Yellowknife and Toronto : 2 cities, one demonstration for Ekati workersAlmost one hundred people met for a demonstration in front of BHP Billiton's offices in downtown Yellowknife . The boisterous crowd danced and sang solidarity songs waving placards urging BHP Billiton to negotiate a fair collective agreement for PSAC members working at the Ekati mine, 300 kilometres north-east of Yellowknife. Union of Northern Workers President, Todd Parsons, warned Billiton that the workers expect their top priorities to be met in their collective agreement. They want better wages, better job security, and the standard principle of determining layoffs by seniority. "But first and foremost'' he said, 'they want and they deserve some respect from their employer." Parsons also wrote a solidarity letter from newly elected NDP Member of Parliament for Western Arctic , Dennis Bevington. In his letter, MP Bevington urges the two parties to return to the bargaining table and to reach a "Made in Canada Labour Agreement". According to Bevington, for too long, Northerners working in the diamond industry have simply accepted what was being handed to them. He also wrote that he will follow the negotiations closely and that he will discuss the issue with his colleagues on Parliament Hill in Ottawa . Many Yellowknifers joined in the demonstration and enjoyed the hot soup served by PSAC members. Although the temperature was quite cold and the wind was blowing hard along the downtown streets, spirits were high among demonstrators and everybody was determined to send a clear message to Billiton management: "Come back to the bargaining tale with an offer that is acceptable to the workers or the Ekati mine will be on strike on April 7 th . Meanwhile, in Toronto , five Ekati Diamond mine workers rallied with their supporters to demand a fair first contract from mine owner BHP Billiton Diamonds. The demonstration was held in front a downtown hotel where Billiton 's management was attending an event for Canada Top 100 Employers. For Jean-François Des Lauriers, PSAC Executive Vice-President-North, who attended the demonstration, Billiton should not be placed among Canada 's top 100 employers before they negotiate a first collective agreement with the workers who actually mine the diamonds.March 27, 2006Yellowknife , NWTPPSAC National President, Nycole Turmel, went to Yellowknife and told Ekati diamond Mine owner, BHP Billiton, that the time has come to show some respect for the 400 PSAC members working at the mine. Along with Todd Parsons, the President of the Union of Northern Workers, Turmel met with the members of the executive committee of PSAC Local X3050 to discuss the difficult negotiations those workers are conducting with Billiton and she gave interviews to Yellowknife media. PSAC National President, Nycole Turmel, said BHP Billiton has to show some respect for its employees in order to reach a settlement without the occurrence of a strike in the near future at the diamond mine, 300 kilometres north-east of Yellowknife. "Our sisters and brothers at the Ekati mine deserve a fair collective agreement, just like all members of the PSAC. They deserve better wages, better job security, and the standard principle of determining layoffs by seniority ." Turmel said. " But first and foremost, they deserve some respect from their employer," she added. For Turmel it is completely unacceptable that the PSAC members have been negotiating in good faith for 14 months and that the company's final offer has failed to address their top priorities. The final offer was rejected by 72% of PSAC members at Ekati Mine. To make things even worse, Turmel said, the company sent a letter to the workers saying that they would keep the mine running during a strike. She said we can only assume one thing: that they intend to use strike-breakers...scab labour if PSAC members go on strike. For her, bringing in scabs will only make the situation more difficult, especially in a Northern community where people still share the painful memories of the labour conflict at the Giant mine in 1992. "People in the North know better than most that hiring scab during a labour dispute is like pouring oil on a fire" Turmel said. " BHP management is setting the ground for a volatile strike." Turmel also reminded the employer that PSAC members want their Bargaining Team to resume the negotiations until they reach a fair and just settlement. To show their good faith, they have agreed to postpone their strike until April 7. "Now we have to wait to see what the company will do." Turmel said. They said they are coming back to the table with the mediator in Edmonton. We will be there and we will wait for them. If they don't show up in Edmonton on April 5 and if they don't adequately address our members priorities of wages, seniority and severance and improved vacation, the Ekati Mine, Canada's first diamond mine, will have its first strike and be shut down on April the seventh," she concluded.
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