Yellowknife (Jun 26/06) - Employees at the Ekati mine could be days away from a new collective agreement following a deal reached Wednesday between BHP Billiton and the workers' bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

The final hurdle to ending the 10-week-old strike is a ratification vote by union members for what could be their first collective agreement since the diamond mine began operations in 1998.

BHP spokesperson Deana Twissell

"We don't view it from a winning or losing perspective, negotiations require compromise on both sides and that's happened and we're pleased," said BHP spokesperson Deana Twissell.

But compromise was elusive during negotiations as both sides took their grievances beyond the bargaining table to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and Northwest Territories Supreme Court. And Wednesday's CIRB hearing in Edmonton appears to have accomplished what the union and company were unable to achieve.

While Twissell acknowledged the CIRB's contribution, PSAC regional vice-president north Jean-Francois Des Lauriers called recent events "a positive step" and felt the board's involvement played in the union's favour.

"The process we went through (with the CIRB) ruled in our favour, both clauses BHP tried to re-open, the board ruled that it was out of order," he said, referring to the mandatory union membership clause section BHP tried to delete from the new contract, and a clause portion the company amended that prohibited the union from taking action against its members who crossed the picket line during the strike.

On the issue of union membership, the compromise reached was any current employee will have the option of union membership and all new employees to the mine after contract ratification must be a card-carrying member of the Union of Northern Workers 3050. However, the union lost the battle to fine its members who crossed the picket line as the CIRB instructed it not to take or allow any of its members to engage in reprisals, including fines against any employee who remained at or returned to work.

"We did not agree with that but the board ordered what you see before you," said Des Lauriers, adding that any employee who wished to participate in the ratification vote was obliged to sign a union card.

Also part of the agreement is that the union and BHP drop all outstanding CIRB and court proceedings against each other. As well, the union prevailed in what it contended was its right to conduct the ratification vote in a manner it saw fit. In BHP's May 31 "final offer" to PSAC, it demanded the union take the offer to its membership for ratification and that the process be conducted by mail-in ballot. The union felt this demand meddled in its internal affairs and made it part of the most recent unfair labour practices complaint to the CIRB, which brought both sides together at the June 21 hearing.

According to Des Lauriers, the ratification vote could be held, "In a matter of days" at series of meetings.