Strike ends at Chile's Caserones Cu mine
Workers at the Caserones mine in Chile reached an agreement with controlling group Lundin Mining to end a one-week strike.
The majority of the union members at the mine have agreed to Lundin's new collective bargaining proposal, the company said on 24 August, adding that it would focus on resuming operations that were running at approximately 50pc capacity during the strike.
Around 30pc of the mine's workers began striking in mid-August.
Caserones is an open pit copper-molybdenum mine which produces high-quality copper concentrate, copper cathode and molybdenum concentrate, according to Lundin.
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Canadian labor board orders rail service to resume
Canadian labor board orders rail service to resume
Houston, 25 August (Argus) — Canada's two Class I railroads avoided a crippling extended work stoppage on Saturday, after an independent labor board upheld the Canadian government's order for the railroads to enter binding arbitration with a labor union representing more than 9,000 rail employees. The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), in two separate orders, directed the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) to enter binding arbitration with the nation's two Class I railroads — Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN). The order heads off an extended work stoppage that would have echoed across North American supply chains for virtually all commodities, from crude, refined products, LPG and coal to fertilizers like potash, as well as consumer and industrial goods. Virtually all railed shipments carried by CN and CPKC came to a grinding halt early on 22 August after months-long talks between the railroads and the TCRC hit an impasse. Later the same day, the Canadian government stepped in to force parties into binding arbitration, but the TCRC said it would not abide by the directive without a ruling from the CIRB. In its rulings, the CIRB ordered CN and CPKC employees represented by the TCRC to resume their duties as of 12:01 am EDT on 26 August and remain "until the final binding interest arbitration process is completed". The CIRB also ruled that no further labor stoppages, including lockouts or strikes, could occur during the arbitration process, effectively voiding a TCRC strike notice issued on 23 August for CN workers set to take effect on 26 August. CN and CPKC said they will comply with the CIRB order, and CPKC asked TCRC employees to return to work on 25 August "so that we can get the Canadian economy moving again as quickly as possible and avoid further disruption to supply chains". The TCRC said it would comply with the CIRB decision, even though it sets a "dangerous precedent". TCRC plans to appeal the ruling in federal court. "The ruling signals to corporate Canada that large companies need only stop their operations for a few hours, inflict short-term economic pain, and the federal government will step in to break a union," TCRC president Paul Boucher said. "The rights of Canadian workers have been significantly diminished today." It could take weeks for Canadian rail operations to return to normal. CPKC said it could take several weeks for its rail network to fully recover from the work stoppage and even longer for supply chains to stabilize. Canadian railroads last week embargoed shipments of toxic materials and earlier this week stopped loading any new railcars. By Chris Baltimore Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Union plans new rail strike despite order: Update
Union plans new rail strike despite order: Update
Adds additional comment from Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Washington, 23 August (Argus) — The status of rail freight in Canada remains uncertain after a Canadian labor union today issued a new strike notice to Canadian National (CN), less than a day after the federal government ordered all parties to participate in binding arbitration. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) today issued notice to CN that members will go on strike at 10am ET on 26 August. The union had not issued a strike notice to CN earlier this week, but employees could not work yesterday after the CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked them out. The union said it moved to strike to "frustrate CN's attempt to force arbitration", and protect workers' rights to collectively bargain. CN had previously sought a federal order for binding arbitration. The government's back-to-work order yesterday sidestepped the collective bargaining process, and "undermined the foundation on which labour unions work to improve wages and working conditions for all Canadians", union president Paul Boucher said today. "Bargaining is also the primary way our union fights for rail safety — all considerations that outweigh short-term economic concerns," Boucher said. The union was more optimistic in its strike notice to CN this morning. "We do not believe that any of the matters we have been discussing over the last several days are insurmountable." It said it would be available to discuss issues to avoid another work stoppage. CN indicated it was frustrated with the union's action. "While CN is focused on its recovery plan to get back to powering the economy, the Teamsters are focused on returning to the picket line and holding the country hostage to their demands," the railroad said. CN last night had begun implementing a recovery plan to restore service . The union has not yet responded to inquiries about its action today. The office of labour minister Steven MacKinnon declined to comment. Rail operations at CN and CP stopped at 12:01am ET on Thursday after the union launched a strike at CPKC and both railroads locked out employees. That action ended late Thursday afternoon with the federal government directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to manage binding arbitration on the railroads. CIRB, an independent agency, has not yet said if it will accept the government's order. CN began moving some freight early on 23 August, but the new strike order issued soon by the union today could disrupt those plans. The union has also challenged the constitutionality of MacKinnon's order regarding CPKC operations pending the outcome of a new ruling by the CIRB. CPKC's rail fleet remains parked in the meantime. CPKC said late Thursday it was disappointed in the minister's decision and sought to meet with CIRB to discuss resumption of service. CPKC said the union "refused to discuss any resumption of service, and instead indicated that they wish to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of the Minister's direction." A case management meeting with CIRB occurred last night and another was scheduled for early today. Hearings are also underway to address preliminary issues, the union said. But the Teamsters said it was prepared to appeal the case to federal court if necessary. By Abby Caplan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Union plans new rail strike despite arbitration order
Union plans new rail strike despite arbitration order
Washington, 23 August (Argus) — The status of rail freight in Canada remains uncertain after a Canadian labor union today issued a new strike notice to Canadian National (CN), less than a day after the federal government forced all parties to participate in binding arbitration. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) today issued notice to CN that members will go on strike at 10am ET on 26 August. The union had not issued a strike notice to CN earlier this week, but employees could not work yesterday after the CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked them out. "We do not believe that any of the matters we have been discussing over the last several days are insurmountable," the union said today in its notice to CN. It said it would be available to discuss issues to avoid another work stoppage. CN indicated it was frustrated with the union's action. "While CN is focused on its recovery plan to get back to powering the economy, the Teamsters are focused on returning to the picket line and holding the country hostage to their demands," the railroad said. CN last night had begun implementing a recovery plan to restore service . The union has not yet responded to inquiries about its action today. The office of labour minister Steven MacKinnon declined to comment. Rail operations at CN and CP stopped at 12:01am ET on Thursday after the union launched a strike at CPKC and both railroads locked out employees. That action ended late Thursday afternoon with the federal government directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to manage binding arbitration on the railroads. CIRB, an independent agency, has not yet said if it will accept the government's order. CN began moving some freight early on 23 August, but the new strike order issued soon by the union today could disrupt those plans. The union has also challenged the constitutionality of MacKinnon's order regarding CPKC operations pending the outcome of a new ruling by the CIRB. CPKC's rail fleet remains parked in the meantime. CPKC said late Thursday it was disappointed in the minister's decision and sought to meet with CIRB to discuss resumption of service. CPKC said the union "refused to discuss any resumption of service, and instead indicated that they wish to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of the Minister's direction." A case management meeting with CIRB occurred last night and another was scheduled for early today. By Abby Caplan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
‘Time has come’ for rate cuts: Fed chair Powell
‘Time has come’ for rate cuts: Fed chair Powell
Houston, 23 August (Argus) — US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell today told a central bank symposium that the "time has come" for the Fed to begin lowering borrowing costs, just weeks before the next Fed policy meeting in mid-September. "The time has come for policy to adjust," he told an audience of central bankers and economists at the annual symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks." Powell's remarks today are the clearest signal that the Fed is ready to begin lowering borrowing costs, a move that would help spur economic activity as the economy has shown signs of slowing. The move would also come a little over two months before the presidential election in the US. After the 31 July Fed policy meeting that kept the rate unchanged, Powell said that if economic data continued to come in as expected, a rate cut "could be on the table" for the September meeting. After Powell's remarks today, the CME's FedWatch tool was signaling 65.5pc odds of a quarter point rate cut at the next Fed meeting and 34.5pc probability of a 50 basis point cut. That compares with 76pc for a quarter point cut and 24pc for a half point cut Thursday. "With an appropriate dialing back of policy restraint, there is good reason to think that the economy will get back to 2pc inflation while maintaining a strong labor market," he said today in the text of his speech. "The upside risks to inflation have diminished. And the downside risks to employment have increased." The Fed — which has a dual mandate of pursuing maximum employment and price stability — has been battling to bring down inflation for the last two years after it peaked at 9.1pc in June 2022. In the sharpest course of rate hikes in four decades, the Fed pushed up its target rate by more than five percentage points to a range of 5.25-5.5pc from early 2022 through July 2023. The Fed has maintained the target rate at that level since then, which has pushed the consumer price index to 2.9pc in the year through July, its lowest in three years. While inflation has slowed markedly, the economy has largely proven resilient. Still, the labor market has shown signs of weakening recently, especially as a much weaker-than-expected employment report for July caused a brief meltdown on financial markets several weeks ago. This prompted some economists to warn that the Fed had been too slow in adjusting its policy as recession fears had mounted. "We will do everything we can to support a strong labor market as we make further progress toward price stability," Powell said. "The current level of our policy rate gives us ample room to respond to any risks we may face." Powell noted that the labor market "has cooled considerably from its formerly overheated state," pointing out that unemployment had risen by nearly one percentage point to 4.3pc in July from early 2023, "still low by historical standards… Even so, the cooling in labor market conditions is unmistakable." By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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