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3 April, 2000The Canadian Steelworkers in Sudbury are hosting a meeting with their fellow nickel workers from Russia.
CANADA/RUSSIA: The IMF-affiliated Steelworkers' union writes that its Local 6500 in Sudbury, Ontario, is hosting the first-ever meeting between Canadian and Russian nickel workers. The five-member Russian workers' delegation comes from the Norilsk Nickel Interregional Association of Trade Unions, which represents 16,000 nickel workers in Russia. Local 6500 represents 3,000 workers at the Inco mining operation in Sudbury.
The Steelworkers' area coordinator, Wayne Fraser, remarked that there were only four or five countries in the world producing nickel, and "through the International Metalworkers' Federation, we have contacts with workers in New Caledonia, Indonesia and now Russia."
The Canadian union says that the meeting is offering the possibility for workers from both countries to share such common concerns as production, health and safety and job security as well as determine what role the unions can play. Speaking for Steelworkers' Local 6500, its president, Dan O'Reilly, commented that "by exchanging ideas, we can learn from each other and start to develop a worldwide, worker-driven strategy for the nickel industry."
The Steelworkers' area coordinator, Wayne Fraser, remarked that there were only four or five countries in the world producing nickel, and "through the International Metalworkers' Federation, we have contacts with workers in New Caledonia, Indonesia and now Russia."
The Canadian union says that the meeting is offering the possibility for workers from both countries to share such common concerns as production, health and safety and job security as well as determine what role the unions can play. Speaking for Steelworkers' Local 6500, its president, Dan O'Reilly, commented that "by exchanging ideas, we can learn from each other and start to develop a worldwide, worker-driven strategy for the nickel industry."