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Strike At Canadian Diamond Mine Delayed.
The union for 400 workers at BHP Billiton's Ekati diamond mine in the Canadian Arctic said on Friday it moved a strike deadline to April 7 from March 29 as it expected contract talks with the company to resume.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada union, which represents about 60 percent of the mine's work force, said it accepted a Canadian federal mediator's request for talks in Edmonton, Alberta on April 5 and 6.
"We are pleased that BHP Billiton has agreed to meet with the federal mediator and we hope it is a sign that a first collective agreement can be reached," Jean-Francois Des Lauriers, a senior executive for the union, said in a statement.
BHP, which also produces iron ore, coal, aluminum, oil and natural gas, had previously said it would not return to the bargaining table earlier than April 18.
Des Lauriers said the workers will go on strike if the union decides that it cannot reach a satisfactory agreement with the company.
Issues include wages, seniority, better treatment of aboriginals and quality-of-life issues such as vacations and compensation for statutory holidays, according to the union.
The Ekati mine, located in the Northwest Territories, about 300 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife, is Canada's first diamond mine. It produces about four to five million carats of rough diamonds a year, equal to some 4 percent of the world's diamond production by weight.
Comments
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