Mount Polley Mine ordered to pay wages to employees it laid off without proper notice
Mining company said it was forced to lay off staff due to mounting losses after 2014 tailings pond breach
The B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) has ordered the Mount Polley Mining Corporation to pay wages to 26 employees it laid off earlier this year because it did not give proper notification.
In a July 10 ruling, Labour Relations Board associate chair Jennifer Glougie rejected Mount Polley's argument that it should be exempt from the provisions in the Labour Relations Code that require 60 days' notice of termination because of mounting financial losses resulting from a massive tailings pond breach four years ago.
Mount Polley argued to the LRB the tailings pond breach was outside of its control and resulted from inappropriate recommendations from the engineering firm it hired in constructing the berm.
Glougie ruled against the company.
"The tailings pond breach, the cost of remediating that breach, and the significant financial losses the employer suffered as a result are not new or unforeseen," Glougie wrote.
$155 million in losses since the tailings pond spill
On August 4, 2014, the mine's tailings dam broke sending 24 million cubic metres of mining waste into nearby lakes and rivers.
The LRB ruling noted Mount Polley has spent approximately $205 million on remediation activities and new equipment following the 2014 tailings pond breach while having net earnings of only $50 million, resulting in a loss of $155 million.
Mount Polley's parent company, Imperial Metals, decided that further losses in 2018 were unacceptable and a way to avoid losses was a reduction in pit operations at the mine as soon as operationally possible, said the ruling.
The employees' union filed a grievance with the LRB and argued the employer was in breach of the Labour Relations Code by not providing the required notice for layoffs. It argued that the company's losses were not beyond its control.
"The Employer did not just become aware of the financial difficulties caused by the tailings pond breach. The breach occurred almost four years ago and the cost of remediation has likely been known since shortly after the breach occurred," the union argued.
The decision comes as the company and the union are in labour dispute where more than 200 workers have been on strike since late May. The mine's labour agreement with the union expired at the end of 2017.
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