Labour negotiations at Xstrata Plc’s nickel operations in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, will not resume “until at least 29 January,” a union representative said on 26 January. Canadian Auto Workers union spokesman Richard Paquin, said the company has put its original offer back on the table minus the early signing bonus. The parties rejected each other’s offers on 25 January and the union said talks have stalled since that time. On 25 January, Xstrata put forward an offer that included a cash bonus for early ratification, but the union rejected it and presented the company with a counter-offer. The company then withdrew its original offer. Now Swiss-based Xstrata will bring in its vice president of Xstrata Nickel into the talks, the union said. If the parties do not reach an agreement by the time the current contract expires at midnight 31 January, more than 1000 unionized mine workers would go on strike. Xstrata said talks will continue with the aim of reaching a contract agreement by 31 January. “Our team remains committed to reaching agreement by deadline,” said Ian Hamilton, Xstrata Nickel’s spokesman.
