Violence marks 4-month strike at Giant mine

The 4-month-old strike at Royal Oak Mines’ (TSE) giant gold mine has been violent as it continued operation, using scabs. Prior to the Sept. 18 blast which killed nine miners, other explosions at the site had damaged a mine ventilation building and a small satellite dish.

Nine months before the strike started, union officials had begun accusing Royal Oak President Margaret Witte of planning a union bust at the Giant mine after three union officials were laid off. Two of them later landed other jobs at the mine.

Relations appeared to improve in the new year, during long weeks of contract negotiations. In mid-April, the two sides announced a tentative agreement, recommended unanimously by the union’s negotiating committee. But union members voted 82% against the tentative deal, which would have tied future pay raises to increases in gold prices.

Last-minute negotiations went nowhere, especially after Royal Oak Vice-President John Smrke said the use of replacement workers “was a possibility.” The comment came two weeks before the strike deadline. Royal Oak brought in its first replacement workers immediately. As the labor dispute dragged on, increasing numbers of strikers gave up and returned to work.

By the time of the fatal blast, the union appeared to have been effectively defeated.

Meanwhile, the Northwest Territories government publicly asked Royal Oak to withdraw its replacement workers from the Giant mine. After mediation failed, the Territories’ minister of justice asked Labour Minister Marcel Danis, who has jurisdiction over the mine, to pass special back-to-work legislation for Giant.

In both cases, Danis refused to intervene. But on Sept. 21 the Northwest Territories government leader Nellie Cournoyea and Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew renewed calls for federal intervention. At last report, Danis was still thinking about the requests.

At the recent Mines Ministers conference held in Whitehorse, Yukon, Jake Epp, federal minister of energy, mines and resources, expressed regret for the tragedy at the Giant mine. But Epp said he won’t get involved in the dispute because it is being handled by the Solicitor General and the RCMP.