Workers at Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine ratify new contract

VANCOUVER – Unionized workers at Teck Resources Ltd.’s Highland Valley Copper operations in British Columbia have ratified a new five-year collective agreement.

United Steelworkers Local 7619 says the contract was ratified with 81.2 per cent of ballots in favour.

It says that 869 of the 1,048 USW workers at the mine voted on whether to accept the new agreement.

The USW had issued a strike notice Jan. 11 after being without a contact since Sept. 30, 2021 and two the sides entered into mediation.

Teck says in a statement it was pleased to reach an agreement, while the USW bargaining committee says there are great improvements in the contract.

Highland Valley Copper is the largest open-pit copper and molybdenum mine in Canada with annual copper production this year expected to be between 135,000 and 165,000 tonnes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TECK.A)