Image Credit: Taseko Mines

By James Peters

Labour Strife

Workers at Cariboo’s Gibraltar Mine in strike position as of Friday

May 28, 2024 | 2:26 PM

McLEESE LAKE, B.C. — The union representing workers at the Gibraltar Mine near McLeese Lake has given mine owner Taseko Mines 72-hour strike notice.

In a news release, Unifor Local 3018 says strike action will begin Friday (May 31) at midnight if a “fair settlement” cannot be reached before then.

Unifor represents 550 employees at the copper-molybdenum mine. Workers voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike.

The current collective agreement between the union and company expires on Friday. The two sides have been meeting for several weeks, but the union says the company has not made any “meaningful proposals at the bargaining table.”

“Unifor has negotiated in good faith to avoid work stoppage at Taseko’s only functioning copper mine,” said Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle in the release. “We need Taseko to get serious about resolving basic issues if we’re to avoid job action.”

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Vancouver-based Taseko Mines touts Gibraltar as the second-largest open pit copper mine in Canada and the largest employer in the Cariboo.

The company has not issued comment on the potential strike.