Vale official lying

Posted By CAROL MULLIGAN, THE SUDBURY STAR

Posted 12 mins ago

United Steelworkers are going to have someone on the "inside" challenge Vale SA president and chief executive officer Roger Agnelli to defend his comments that Vale Inco's Sudbury operations are not financially sustainable.

Wayne Fraser, director of USW's District 6, said he spoke Monday with the head of a Brazilian mining unit who is a member of the board of directors of Vale SA in Brazil.

Eduardo Pinto, leader of the Sindicato dos Ferroviarios do Maranhoa-MA, CNTT, will ask Agnelli the question on the minds of union members and others in Sudbury.

Why did Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (now Vale SA) spend US$19 billion to purchase Inco Ltd. if it did not believe the company had a bright financial future?

Fraser said Pinto will ask Agnelli why he recommended to the board that CVRD purchase the Canadian company if its main set of operations was not viable.

"When Agnelli came to town two and a half years ago, he knew exactly what was going on" because his company had performed its due diligence, charged Fraser.

"He knew that Sudbury (Inco) had been here for 100 years and had been very, very profitable."

Asked Fraser: "Why all of a sudden has that changed?"

Two weeks ago, Agnelli told reporters in Rio de Janeiro: "Sudbury is Vale's highest-cost operation and it's not sustainable."

That statement has infuriated Steelworkers whose Locals 6500 in Sudbury and 6200 in Port Colborne are striking against Vale Inco.

The union claims Vale Inco is seeking concessions by trying to alter their pension plan, reduce workers' nickel bonuses and limit seniority transfer rights.

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Fraser had harsh words about Agnelli's change of heart regarding the profitability of Sudbury.

"He was either lying to the people of Sudbury two and a half years ago or he's lying now," said Fraser.

The union director was still outraged Monday by comments made by Industry Minister Tony Clement to The Sudbury Star last week about how Inco would have gone under if CVRD had not purchased it.

Clement said another buyer could not have been found for Inco and that Sudbury would have become "the Valley of Death" without its thousands of jobs.

"His comments are so inappropriate for a minister of this government," said Fraser.

He accused Clement of speaking without understanding the facts and said he should resign as Industry minister.

Fraser's union continues to try to obtain information about the sale of Inco to CVRD, although it is not allowed to see the agreement the company signed with the Canadian government because of legislation in the Canada Investment Act.

Fraser said he just doesn't get that.

"How can a government that's supposed to be for the people be allowed to withhold information that affects the population of Sudbury?" he asked.

USW is questioning whether Vale Inco has lived up to the undertakings it made to Investment Canada so it could purchase Inco.

Fraser is convinced, as many are, that Vale Inco's Sudbury operations are sustainable, and the concessions he said the company is seeking have nothing to do with that.

"If this (strike) is about sustainability, then this wouldn't be about the (nickel price) bonus because the bonus is about how much you pay when you're making good money," said Fraser.

He believes the strike is about the philosophical difference between the members of Local 6500, "our community in Sudbury and what Vale thinks.

"And this is about the philosophical difference about how much profit and return on investment they should get out of this operation versus what the employees receive in remuneration

Layton plans rally appearance

Federal NDP leader Jack Layton will attend a rally organized by Mine Mill Local 598/CAW at the McClelland Arena in Copper Cliff on Friday.

The rally, which starts at 1 p. m., is being held to protest what Mine Mill says is the lack of action the federal government took to ensure Xstrata Nickel and Vale Inco lived up to the takeover agreements the companies signed in 2006.

The takeover agreements included no-layoff clauses, but there have been layoffs at both companies this year, the union said in a release.

The rally will show support for Vale Inco workers, members of Steelworkers Local 6500, who have been on strike since July 13.

At 2 p. m., the group, including Layton, will march to a Local 6500 picket line for another rally.

and what they receive in bonuses," he said.