MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell Industries and a United Steelworkers (USW) local union began talks last Thursday for a new contract for 485 workers at the company’s Houston oil refinery, one day after employees rallied outside that plant over a lack of negotiations, reported Reuters with reference to the company and union.
Marcos Velez, USW International representative, said the union was expecting the company to propose cuts, without elaborating on the type of reductions expected.
"The union and the company have met and while the union remains committed to reaching a deal, the company’s initial proposals are concessionary and far from acceptable to the union," Velez said.
The contract between LyondellBasell and USW local 13-227 expires on Feb. 1.
The agreement on local issues will be combined with a national contract to be negotiated in January between USW International representatives and Shell Oil Co, the US arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is the lead company for refinery and chemical plant owners.
The national agreement sets the pattern for pay, benefits and health and safety issues that must be incorporated in the contracts at each location where USW members work.
The national agreement also expires on Feb. 1.
As MRC wrote previously, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.
LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
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