Outlook group home workers back on job after lockout

Workers at a group home south of Saskatoon are back on the job 11 weeks after their employer locked them out, according to the union representing them.

The 44 direct-care workers returned to Variety Place in Outlook on Sunday after voting last week to accept a “fair general wage increase,” Service Employees International Union (SEIU-West) said in a news release.

According to SEIU-West president Barbara Cape, the group home had 22 residents with mental and physical disabilities, plus three who came for day programs. They spent the lockout living with family members or at other facilities.

“We look forward to catching up with our participants and residents,” SEIU-West Variety Place unit chair Carmela Verwimp said in a statement. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen them and we hope that they are doing well and are excited to get back to normal.”

The workers have been without a contract since September 2013. Cape said last month that the workers have not been making a living wage. The union said previously that it served strike notice, but still wanted to negotiate.

“In the absence of additional funding from the government of Saskatchewan, Variety Place is simply not in a position to provide and sustain these wage increases or additional paid sick time,” the group home said in a statement posted to Facebook.

“We are glad that this impasse has been resolved and we are thankful for all support our members received from their local community and the broader labour movement,” Cape said in a statement.

SEIU-West represents more than 13,000 workers in Saskatchewan, in sectors such as health care and education.