Workers Uniting Questions Vale’s Cancellation of Investor Events

LONDON - Workers Uniting, the world’s first international union, has criticised Vale’s recent decision to cancel planned investor events in New York and London as more evidence of a company in disarray.

The global union represents three million workers in North America, the UK & Ireland. Workers Uniting, is a partnership between Unite from the United Kingdom and the United Steelworkers (USW) from the United States and Canada.

USW members in Vale, a mining company, have been on strike since 13th July in a bitter dispute over pay, terms and conditions. The dispute is at Vale operations in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario and Voisey’s Bay, Labrador.

Vale was scheduled to meet with key investors in New York on 21st October during “Vale Day on Wall Street” and in London on the 23rd October.

Ken Neumann, USW Canadian National Director said: “Vale has been trying to avoid our shining a light on their managerial misconduct. Now it appears to be trying to hide from hard questions that might be raised by investors and the media. We will go to wherever Vale has operations and tell customers and investors how this company is unfairly treating its workers in Canada, Brazil and elsewhere. “

Despite the cancelation of its own day on Wall Street, striking miners in Sudbury, Canada will still hold its Vale Day today (Wednesday). Since Vale was planning to host a breakfast for investors, USW will host a breakfast on the picket line where some 3,500 miners are on strike.

In New York, a delegation of USW activists will join strikers from Sudbury and Port Colborne across the street from the New York Stock Exchange at Federal Hall where they’ll inform investors that the company is hiding from them, too. The USW wants the company to return to the bargaining table in Canada and calls on its top management to rekindle negotiations.

Strikers and other supporters will also conduct a demonstration at Vale offices in Toronto and in Rio.

The workers will reach out to the financial community in London in November. Unite represents Vale workers in London and Wales.

Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary said: “Through Workers Uniting we are supporting the Vale miners in Canada. Investors must be told about the Canadian struggle to reach fair labour agreements. We stand in support of the USW in their Vale campaign for a fair deal now.”

You can also visit: www.fairdealnow.ca

Source: Unite the Union

For more information, contact: Saba Mozakka (UK) at +44(0)7768-693-953; saba.mozakka at unitetheunion.com; Bob Gallagher (Canada) at +1-416-434-2221; bgallagher at usw.ca; Wayne Ranick (U.S.) at +1-412-562-2444; wranick at usw.org