Hudbay will be gone from Flin Flon by summer

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This article was published 08/03/2022 (1302 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The clock is ticking on the looming closure of Hudbay Mineral’s almost century-long operations in Flin Flon, with the zinc plant to close in May and the company’s flagship 777 mine to close in June.

While the company publicly stated the operation would close a couple of years ago it was only last month that the precise dates of the closures were revealed.

Of the approximately 700 people currently working for Hudbay in Flin Flon, it is anticipated that after transfers to Hudbay’s growing operations in Snow Lake and those eligible for retirement that about 280 people will likely be laid off.

Peter Kukielski, CEO of Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc., said in an interview with the Free Press, “We are aware of the company’s history in Flin Flon and we absolutely understand the impacts and do not make light of it. It is something that is very significant.”

But having said that, union officials are less than impressed with how the process is being managed.

Tom Davie the president of United Steelworkers local 7106, the local representing the largest number of Hudbay workers in Flin Flon, said a memorandum of agreement signed with a new contract that was agreed to in the fall, said that the fate of all workers was to have been decided by the end of last year.

But that has not been the case.

“To this day they have still not completed that task,” Davie said. “If we had known they would not meet with us until February or March we would have made them put it in the MOA. We have about six active grievances and the agreement is only five or six months old. They have not lived up to much of anything. It is horrible.”

As well, he said it’s the first time in Hudbay’s history that it has not offered incentives for those eligible for retirement.

“It’s not enough notice for people to start applying for jobs or find out about Employment Insurance benefits or if they are entitled to or any extra training packages,” he said.

Davie’s comments are in contrast to Kukielski’s contention that the company has a good relationship with the union, which he claims “are good partners.”

“The relationship (with the unions) is fine,” he said. “We have worked hard to reach an agreement in very difficult times. It is always difficult to do when facing change like this.”

The difference in the perception between management and the unions in this case may have something to do with the fact that things are going very well corporately for Hudbay these days, notwithstanding that it is being forced to shut down a large mine because it is at the end of its productivity.

The company just opened up the New Britannia gold processing plant in Snow Lake, close to the Lalor mine, its large copper, zinc and gold mine, after spending about $150 million to refurbish the plant that had been idle for more than 15 years.

The new processing facility dramatically increases the volume of gold that can be produced at a time when gold prices are high due to the volatile environment in global markets.

It is also planning to ramp up production at Lalor.

The company has also increased its exploration budget for 2022 by about 50 per cent and intends to spend about $20 million of that in Manitoba (with the balance split between Arizona and Peru where Hudbay has significant operations.)

Hudbay has discovered and operated more than 20 mines in its history in Manitoba and Kukielski said they hope to find 20 more.

“The mining industry is pretty vibrant right now,” Kukielski said.

Metal prices are up due to a growing demand for metals related to de-carbonization and electrification and the shortage of new mines coming into production globally.

The company has had to bring in contract workers to supplement its own workforce in Snow Lake and Kukielski said that scenario in Snow Lake makes him think that the 280 or so Flin Flon workers who seem likely to be laid off might be able to find other job opportunities elsewhere in the industry.

“I think you will find folks in Flin Flon will have lots of opportunities elsewhere in Canada,” he said. “Places like Timmins are really, really humming now. That might mitigate the impact of the need to lay people off.”

That will likely be cold comfort for workers in Flin Flon who are just being told now that they will be laid off in June.

“We have very upset members who don’t know if they have jobs or not,” Davie said.

“I’ve been a union rep since ‘93 and president since 2004 and I have never seen the company this unorganized and this uncaring in my whole career,” he said. “It is absolutely disgusting what they are doing with people’s lives.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca