Unionized workers at the Highland Valley Copper Mine near Logan Lake have voted in favour of a new five-year contract with mine owner, Teck Resources.

The new contract was ratified with 81.2 per cent support, according to the United Steelworkers Local 7619.

It said 706 of the 869 employees who voted over three days this week at the Logan Lake Recreation Centre, voted in favour of the contract which came about after mediated talks held last weekend.

“Thank you all for taking part in the democratic process in deciding all of our futures,” a statement from the Steelworkers said. “Just like any vote, what ever the group consensus lands is where we all go.”

“Be proud of the significant language which will improve the lives of workers at HVC. There are great improvements that will help employees on a wide variety of issues over the next five years.”

All 1,048 unionized workers at the mine – who had been without a contract since Sept. 30, 2021 – were in a legal strike position as of Sunday, Jan. 16, after the union issued 72-hour strike notice on Jan. 11.

Wages were a key issue with the Steelworkers noting on Monday that the two sides were “at an impasse” after 42 days of negotiations.

Sources told NL News that Teck was proposing increases of two per cent per year for five years plus a $3,000 a year signing bonus, while the union was pushing for a three per cent wage increase a year, in addition to a signing bonus.

In the end, mediators Vince Ready and Corinn Bell proposed a lump sum payment of $20,000 to all active union members, including those on leave and those who retired between Oct 1, 2021 and the date of ratification.

They also proposed wage increases of two per cent a year, retroactive to Oct 1, 2021.

“We note that this was a particularly difficult round of bargaining and that the Union bargaining committee negotiated to impasse on a number of very difficult issues and, as such, we have made the decision to issue the [recommendations] as representative of a compromise to all issues in the dispute,” Ready and Bell wrote in their recommendations.

“We recommend that the parties seriously consider these recommendations to avoid a lengthy labour dispute.”

Highland Valley Copper is the largest open-pit copper and molybdenum mine in Canada, and it has been operational since 1962.

Teck Resources is also hoping to expand the life of the mine to 2040, a 12-year extension to the current estimated closing date in 2028.