Approx. 16% of New Brunswick power is generated from coal from El Cerrejon coal mine in Colombia.
RESPONSE TO LEON TEICHER
IF DIALOGUE MEANS IMPOSITION, THEN A STRIKE IS INEVITABLE
In order for dialogue to be an effective means to come to an agreement between two parties in a negotiation, both parties have to negotiate in good faith. Cerrejon’s negotiating committee has not shown good faith in these negotiations. They have continually been arrogant and intransigent, which has made it very difficult to come to an agreement.
It is their negotiators’ behavior that has made dialogue impossible, and that has forced Sintracarbón’s negotiating committee to leave the table. Not because we wanted to, but because Cerrejon’s negotiating committee made it clear that they have nothing else to propose and we have no alternative but a strike.
Our world-class operators and technicians who work in the mining complex have generated fabulous profits for the company in recent years. It is inconceivable to us that the company cannot offer a solution to the needs that our union has explained in our bargaining proposal, through the kind of dialogue that you allude to in your statement, considering that we are the lowest-paid miners in the world.
It seems to us that your statement was an attempt to undermine our negotiating committee and delegitimize it in the eyes of the workers. For example, in your statement you claim that Cerrejon’s proposal offered a 7.5% raise in the first year, when in fact the offer Cerrejon made was for a 7.25% increase. We would like to believe that you were simply misinformed, and that this false information is not part of your strategy.
Our union also laments the lack of sensitivity and rationality on the part of Cerrejon’s negotiating committee. Their continual arrogance, intransigence, insensitivity and irrationality are not conducive to creating an appropriate path to dialogue to arrive at an agreement that will end the conflict.
Sintracarbon fraternally invites Leon Teicher to examine the attitudes of his negotiating committee, if he truly wishes to construct a dialogue and not simply an imposition. We invite him to negotiate directly with our negotiating committee as the only possible path to a negotiated solution.
Our union reaffirms the desire and will that we have consistently demonstrated at the negotiating table, to arrive at an agreement through dialogue. But it must be an agreement that satisfies the needs of the workers, temporary and subcontracted workers, and communities. We understand that our goal is to sign a good collective bargaining agreement. But if we can’t achieve this, you can be sure that we will make full use of our legal right to A STRIKE, and it will be a huge strike, and we hold you responsible for its consequences.
Finally, we invite you to reflect upon the following:
IF DIALOGUE MEANS IMPOSITION, THEN A STRIKE IS INEVITABLE