Unifor offers to return to bargaining table

Unifor appeared Wednesday to open the door to ending the lockout at the Co-op refinery.

During a media conference at the Hotel Saskatchewan — the second such gathering of the afternoon — Unifor national president Jerry Dias invited representatives of Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) to sit down for a formal negotiation session Thursday.

Dias opened the media conference by reading a statement by FCL vice-president of human resources Heather Ryan, who said the company would be willing to resume negotiations only if Unifor followed the rule of law as laid out by two Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench injunctions and a subsequent contempt of court decision.

The injunction limited the amount of time picketers could hold up vehicles entering or exiting the facility to 10 minutes each.

“ ‘If they were to follow the law and these rulings, we’d be back at the bargaining table within hours,’ ” Dias read. “OK, Heather Ryan; that’s exactly what we will do. At 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, the (union’s) bargaining committee will be prepared to sit down at the bargaining table to find a resolution to this lockout.

“At 10 a.m., if in fact you are available at that time, we will take down the blockade and we will comply to the letter of the orders from the Saskatchewan courts. If you are not ready to meet at 10 a.m., let us know when you are ready and we will comply with the court order at that time.”

That said, Dias then noted he expected to hear that FCL wasn’t going to meet Unifor officials given the company’s recent history with unions.

In a statement sent early Wednesday evening to 980 CJME, a refinery spokesperson said the company was “encouraged” by Unifor’s stance.

“We have reached out to get clarification of their interpretation of compliance with the letter of Justice (Janet) McMurtry’s permanent court order,” the statement added. “If we’re in alignment, we’ll work to schedule a meeting as soon as practicable.”

During his second media conference, Dias — for the second time in the day — implored Premier Scott Moe to get involved to end a lockout that has reached 55 days.

At the earlier media conference, Dias said workers would go back to work Monday if Moe stepped in and invoked binding arbitration to end the lockout. Dias repeated that request in the second media conference.

“I am saying to the premier we have now complied with every request from Co-op Refinery, including the written word to get back to the bargaining table to find a solution to this impasse,” Dias said.

“If in fact they come out with another excuse not to get to the bargaining table, it is clear that they have no intention of finding a solution and we will once again suggest, quite adamantly, that you give the parties 48 hours to come to an agreement or you will invoke binding arbitration legislation on Monday.”

Unifor previously has asked the provincial government to get involved in the dispute, but the Sask. Party has responded by simply suggesting that the sides return to the bargaining table.

Dias said the union repeatedly has asked to meet with Moe, but hasn’t received any response.

In a statement, the premier’s office said it hadn’t received a formal proposal from Dias requesting binding arbitration “and would need to receive more detail on what he is proposing before responding.”

The statement added that arbitration can be used if both sides agree to it. In the meantime, the government encouraged the parties to return to negotiations.

When it was pointed out during the second media conference that the premier’s office said the union hadn’t formally asked for arbitration, Dias admitted that was true. He added the request was made Wednesday.

Before asking for government intervention, Dias berated FCL and the Co-op Refinery Complex, saying officials should be ashamed of themselves for their actions during the lockout.

“Simply put, FCL is holding this province to ransom,” said Dias, who said he saw “no end in sight” to a lockout that started Dec. 5.

The union president said the company, Regina Mayor Michael Fougere, Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray and others have raised concerns about safety at the refinery due to barricades at the gates.

Dias then revealed that the union on Wednesday had opened up seven gates at the refinery.

“Now no one can argue anything about public safety,” said Dias, who later said the only fences at the refinery were those of the employer.

In its early afternoon statement, the refinery said it received a proposal from the union on Wednesday morning and would review it only when Unifor “follows the law.”

CEO Scott Banda and FCL representatives had an informal meeting with Dias and union officials on Monday. On Tuesday, the company said, Unifor added hundreds of wooden pallets to the barricades.

The union also has erected a barricade around a Co-op fuel terminal in Carseland, Alta.

“To be clear, this is not peaceful, lawful picketing,” Ryan said in the statement. “This is Unifor using aggressive and illegal blockades and ignoring court injunction orders.”

The lockout has featured blockades of Co-op properties in Carseland, Regina and Weyburn, a contempt of court ruling and a $100,000 fine against the union.

Dias admitted there have been more accusations of contempt of court against Local 594 since the initial ruling came down last week. He suggested late Wednesday afternoon that the union “will comply with the orders — absolutely.”