Potential labour snag dug up at northern Saskatchewan uranium sites

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SASKATOON — Hundreds of unionized workers at a uranium mine and a processing mill in remote northern Saskatchewan have voted in favour of a strike to back contract demands.

The workers include about 540 employees of Cameco’s McArthur River mine, the Key Lake mill, as well as catering and cleaning staff at both sites.

The United Steelworkers Union Local 8914 says 92 per cent of those who cast ballots voted for a labour disruption to bolster their position at the bargaining table.

Negotiations are scheduled to wrap up Aug. 28 and the union says if there’s no progress by then, the membership has authorized a strike, which has never occurred before at a Cameco mine.

Negotiators for the company and the union have been meeting since the last collective agreements expired this past December.

A statement on Cameco’s website says there’s risk to production if a work stoppage occurs, but company spokesman Rob Gereghty says the uranium giant has a long relationship with the union and hopes it can reach an agreement.