Workers at Canadian mines continue to enjoy increased wages, bonuses and benefits, according to a newly released survey by the CostMine Division of InfoMine. Fifty-four metal, diamond, fossil fuels, and industrial mineral mines responded to the eleventh annual survey "Canadian Mine Salaries, Wages and Benefits, 2008 Survey Results", published in June 2008. Wage increases for hourly employees ranged from 1.25% to 10%. The highest paid employees worked in the oil sands industry in Alberta, commanding over $32.00 per hour in base wages.
Employees also had the opportunity to increase their paychecks through incentive bonus plans and overtime pay. Sixty-nine percent of the mines reported using some form of incentive bonus plan. Safety, profit, production, and cost savings are the most commonly cited criteria. In the last 3 years, metal prices have increased rapidly, which in turn increased bonus payments to miners based on the commodity price. Several Canadian mining companies reported high bonus payouts as a result of the recent run-up in metal prices.
Details about this survey are available at www.costmine.com.
