Dominion May Cut 150 Mining Jobs

RAPAPORT...Dominion Diamond Mines plans to lay off 150 employees at itsEkati mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, according to union officials. "The employer's intent is to replace these positions withcontracted workers by October 1, 2018, as a cost-cutting mechanism to increaseprofitability for the private owner," Todd Parsons, president of the Unionof Northern Workers (UNW), which represents Dominion's employees, said Tuesday. However, according to the miner, the cuts are due to"unacceptably high levels of absenteeism that have negatively impacted thecosts of [the] operations," Dominion CEO Patrick Evans told CBC News. Evans hasasked the union for proposals that would help alleviate the "serious andunsustainable" situation, and said Dominion would consider any suchrecommendations, the report said Tuesday. "However, if we cannot resolve issues through discussionswith the union, the contemplated contracting will proceed," he added. The UNW intends to file complaints related to unfair laborpractices with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, as well as pursuingseveral other options, Parsons added. The prospective cuts come a week after Dominon reportedly said it wouldpostpone work on the Jay pipe, an extension to Ekati that was due to add a decadeto the mine's life, as the company assessed the profitability of the expansion. This is not the first time Dominion has cut jobs at Ekati.In 2016 the company moved its head office from Yellowknife to Calgary,affecting 100 jobs in the transition, CBC News said. The same year, a fire atthe mine threatened the temporary layoff of over 300 employees, according tothe report. Dominion did not respond to Rapaport News' requests forcomment.