Century, union talks over Kentucky smelter come down to wire

NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Century Aluminum Co (NasdaqGS: CENX - news) and workers at its Hawesville, Kentucky, aluminum smelter will meet on Monday to continue bargaining as the deadline approaches for talks that have already been prolonged by two weeks, the workers' union said.

The current five-year contract between Century and the United Steelworkers Local 9423 is set to expire today, two weeks after the initial deadline of March 31. In late March the two sides granted themselves extra time to reach a new deal.

Workers last week rejected a tentative contract agreement by a vote of 97 percent, according to posts on the union local's website.

One sticking point in the negotiations is retiree medical insurance, as Century stated in late March that employees must retire before April 8 in order to secure the insurance premium rates of the current contract, the union said.

Century, owned by Swiss commodities trading and mining company Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) , saved the 244,000-tonne-per-year smelter from closure two years ago after securing a favorably priced power contract. (Reporting By Luc Cohen; Editing by Ted Botha)