TORONTO: Canada’s Barrick Mining has signed a new collective bargaining agreement with unions representing workers at its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine in western Mali, a company spokesperson and a union official said on Sunday, easing the threat of a strike.
“We confirm that we have signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the LG unions,” the spokesperson said.
Bani Sacko, a union official at Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex, confirmed to Reuters on phone call that strike action has been called off.
“On Monday the 21st, after a meeting, an agreement was reached and the strike action has since been called off. Apparently, all the other strike actions have also been called off,” Sacko said. The Loulo-Gounkoto unions had submitted a list of 15 demands, Sacko added.
The agreement was earlier reported by Bloomberg News, which cited Abdoulaye Coulibaly of Mali’s National Union of Malian Workers.
“The strike threat has been resolved,” Coulibaly said, according to the Bloomberg report. He added that the agreement involved workers at Food & Events Africa, Somilo SA and Gounkoto SA.
Earlier this month, unions representing workers at Somilo and Gounkoto said they would begin strike action at the end of September unless demands on overtime pay, reimbursement of mission expenses and implementation of labour agreements were met.