Premier offers special mediator if Unifor removes fences

The union representing locked-out employees at the Co-op Refinery Complex has been asking Premier Scott Moe to get involved in settling the dispute.

On Monday, the premier said he would get involved — but his offer wasn’t what the union expected. In a media conference later in the day, Unifor officials said they had reservations about Moe’s offer.

At the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) meeting in Regina, Moe said he will appoint a special mediator to help try to end the lockout — but only if the union takes down the barricades it has erected at the refinery.

If the union doesn’t remove the fencing, Moe said he expects Regina police to step in.

“It’s my expectation that the Regina Police Service will uphold the law, they will enforce the court order and they will remove the barricades at the refinery,” Moe told SUMA delegates.

Since Unifor erected the fences around the refinery, representatives of the City of Regina, the Regina Police Service and Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) have said the barricades are illegal. On Monday, Moe chimed in, calling the fences “an illegal blockade.”

The fences remained in place until Friday, when the union removed them as part of the parties’ return to the bargaining table. After talks broke down Friday night, the union put the barricades back up.

The Regina police were active at the refinery on Jan. 20, arresting 14 people — including Unifor national president Jerry Dias. But that’s the only action the police have taken since the lockout began Dec. 5, leading to complaints from many Regina residents.

Moe said he wouldn’t comment on the work done to date by the police. But he added he expects all police forces in the province to enforce the law and any court orders as required.

In an emailed statement late Monday afternoon, the Regina Police Service suggested it wouldn’t be getting involved in what it called “a civil matter” between the parties.

“The Regina Police Service is responsible for community safety and, at this time, the city is not in jeopardy,” the statement read. “The only site where there is an issue is at the Co-op Refinery Complex itself.

“There have been steps taken to ensure Emergency Vehicle access, in and out of the refinery, is guaranteed. The Regina Police Service has been active in this situation since Day 1 and continues to ensure community safety needs are met.”

The statement added that the police “are concerned about the ongoing illegal actions and the violation of the court order” by Unifor and will continue to investigate. But the police service said its hope is that the parties will use all available methods to resolve the dispute.

Moe  said special mediators have been appointed only six times in the past 15 years in the province, so he noted that Monday’s offer “is no small step.”

A special mediator has some powers a normal mediator doesn’t have. The sides in the refinery dispute worked with a mediator before talks fell apart in November, so one with expanded powers could help the situation.

“The special mediator can work outside of the bargaining table process, if you will, bring the parties back to the table and start to work them to a collective decision,” Moe told reporters.

“I have always said and continue to say the very best decisions are always made at the bargaining table. We continue to believe that. That’s why we have extended this offer today, that if all the laws are being adhered to, the court orders are being adhered to, we’ll appoint the special mediator immediately to see if we can move this process along.”

Last week, union officials asked Moe to get involved by introducing binding arbitration legislation. The government has resisted doing so — and Moe’s comments Monday suggest the premier still doesn’t want the matter to go to arbitration.

He and government officials have said they want the sides to negotiate an agreement. On Monday, Moe noted that a special mediator can’t make an order that’s binding on the parties.

The premier said the offer of a special mediator isn’t time sensitive, but he hopes the parties will consider it as a method to get talks back on track.

“All parties, I’m certain, want to come to an agreement so that everyone can go back to work, not only the refinery employees but the management to get everyone back to some semblance of normality with an agreement that is good for all parties,” Moe said.

Unifor skeptical of offer

Scott Doherty, executive assistant to Dias and lead negotiator, wasn’t too sure about what the special mediator would entail.

“I would have loved to have had a conversation — and Unifor would have loved to have had a conversation — with the premier before he announces it to a bunch of business people,” Doherty said Monday. “That, again, shows the disrespect this government has for workers across the country.

“We’ve asked the premier to interject himself and we welcome the fact that he has finally woken up and decided that he wants to do something about this dispute.”

Moe told reporters earlier Monday that he had asked for input from all parties before making his offer.

The special mediator is conditional and Doherty said he doesn’t know what those conditions might be. He said he’d reached out to the government to get a meeting with the labour minister or the premier to find out more details.

Doherty said if the talks aren’t binding and if there isn’t any other way to get to the table, then it looks like a stall tactic to him.

Doherty also took exception to Moe’s description of the barricades as illegal, repeating the line the union has been using for weeks: That the initial injunction was against Unifor’s local group and operations are now being controlled by the national union, which doesn’t have an injunction against it.

“So if Moe wants to talk about it or (FCL CEO Scott) Banda want to talk about illegal, then let’s see the court documents that says Unifor National is actually doing something illegal. We’ve been waiting for it for months, weeks now. Do something about that, but stop trying to have the police intervene in this dispute,” said Doherty.

Doherty also discussed the negotiations which took place Friday. He said they ended abruptly not because the union didn’t want to talk, but because Co-op said it wasn’t interested in Unifor’s proposal and didn’t come back with a counteroffer.

Doherty said he’s ready to talk and his phone is on.

FCL supports Moe’s idea

During a media conference in Regina, Banda said he appreciates the province and the premier taking an interest in trying to find a solution, but said the company will not negotiate while illegal activity continues.

“If those barricades come down and fuel can move and we can have productive conversations, we’re looking at any solution that will help bring the parties back together and help get people back to work,” Banda said.

Banda expressed his frustration over the breakdown of bargaining talks after fewer than 13 hours Friday. He said it is impossible to return to negotiations when the union is holding the business hostage.

“What we encountered on Friday was a group that was interested in their side only, and when they didn’t get their way what happened? The barricades went right back up,” Banda said.

Banda called on all businesses to take notice of what he described as a dangerous precedent being set by Unifor’s actions, saying for this reason Co-op will not bow to the union’s illegal tactics.

“It’s frustrating and it should be a concern for every business in this province and in this country that someone like Unifor determines when the law is to be applied and when it is not,” Banda said.

While the blockade continues, Banda is warning fuel shortages in Saskatchewan and Alberta could happen within days.

“It’s not that hard to figure out if you take a quarter of the production offline or barricade it — which is what has happened here — that it’s only a matter of time,” Banda said.

He maintained the refinery is still functioning at capacity, but the fuel is trapped behind Unifor fences both in Regina and at the fuel storage facility in Carseland, Alta., where Co-op ships fuel by rail.

Banda said there are plans in place to make sure fuel will be delivered to communities where Co-op is the only gas station.

Co-op lawyers will be appearing before judges in Alberta and Saskatchewan this week.

In Alberta, the company will be asking for an injunction to get the fences around the Carseland fuel storage facility removed. In Regina, Co-op lawyers will present their case for a second contempt of court ruling, this time including all of the evidence with the recent escalation of fences and barricades outside the refinery.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Adriana Christianson, Evan Radford and Lisa Schick