Saskenergy shocked by union picket
Unifor members blocked managers from entering a service centre just east of Regina that Saskenergy says is vital to its ability to respond to gas emergencies in the city.
Dozens of picketers reached the facility north of the Trans-canada Highway by White City by 6:40 a.m. Thursday. They forced managers to move important services downtown, but didn’t stop essential service workers from entering or exiting the gates.
Saskenergy officials began the day in a panic, fearing a closed picket line that would block technicians and equipment.
“We’re shocked, because this is shutting us down as a first responder,” Saskenergy spokesman Dave Burdeniuk said upon learning of the action.
“This is like blocking a firehall,” he added.
The picketers did turn away managers. But Scott Doherty, executive assistant to the national president of Unifor, said the picketers know who provides essential services and intend to let them pass.
He argued that the action is a “legal picket line” that will have no effect on public safety.
“It’s a peaceful demonstration to get back to the table, but obviously it’s not business as usual,” he said.
“It’s easy to get past us,” he added. We’re not holding up essential service. We’re only holding up managers that are trying to go to work here today.”
An essential service agreement negotiated between the union and Saskenergy allows about 200 Unifor members to remain on duty daily, and provides for others to step in as needed to deal with emergencies or perform functions that protect the public.
Burdeniuk initially worried that the action could delay response times. He called anything that restricts Saskenergy trucks a “public safety risk.” The White City facility hosts technicians who respond to pipeline hits, underground leaks, fires and odour calls on behalf of the province’s gas utility. It also houses their trucks, as well as other equipment needed to dig up pipelines and shut off gas.
“We need people to be able to get in and out quickly,” Burdeniuk said. “If it’s slow blocked, that’s as much of a danger as if they don’t let us in at all.”
But he later confirmed that the picketers were causing little delay.
“I talked to our general manager, who’s in the building,” said Burdeniuk. “He just saw the tech just drive right through — gate opened and everyone moved out of his way.”
Saskenergy was initially planning to seek a court injunction on Thursday and inform the RCMP of the blockade, according to Burdeniuk. Given that the barricades haven’t yet prevented emergency response, however, he said the injunction might not come immediately.
“We’ve had managers turned away,” he said. “We’ve had personnel who need to be in there turned away. So we are collecting, and we will assess as to whether we feel that there are enough grounds for this to be filed as an injunction. We’re looking at our legal options.”
Burdeniuk said Saskenergy first responders often assist fire departments in emergency situations. “You don’t want natural gas feeding the fire,” he explained.
“Firefighters depend on us, and if we only have a couple of trucks that are available with the equipment, we will have incidents tomorrow in Regina that we can’t respond to,” Burdeniuk said Wednesday night. “And that’s terrifying.”
The mood at the gates by 9:30 a.m. Thursday was decidedly festive. Picketers danced the Macarena and spelled out the letters of Village People’s YMCA. Saskpower employee Darren Lang wore a T-rex costume. “I thought it would ... kind of raise people’s spirits,” he said.
The music and dancing helps keep morale up, in Lang ’s view. It’s also the secret to keeping warm.
“Keep moving,” he said. “If you stand still you freeze.”
But striking isn’t all music and costumes. Lang also has to deal with the financial worries of $300 in strike pay each week. Asked whether he’s in a difficult financial spot, he said it’s “getting there.”
“Right now it’s not so bad, but we’ve got kids and stuff like that,” he said. “So everything’s slowly adding up.”
Doherty said Unifor members are getting frustrated. He said it’s been two weeks since the two sides were at the bargaining table, though the bargaining unit for Water Security Agency has been in talks and reached a tentative agreement on Thursday.
Aside from that tentative agreement, Doherty blamed the impasse elsewhere on the government, which he said is preventing Crowns from negotiating a fair deal. He pledged to keep up the pressure.
“Obviously, in a dispute, we have to do what we have to do to get back to the bargaining table,” Doherty said. “And we’re going to continue to do those types of things to ensure that the public and the government and the corporations understand.”
Thursday morning’s action comes after blockades at buildings housing Sasktel and Saskpower call centres. Unifor has used vehicles as barricades to prevent managers from entering. But Burdeniuk argued that the White City facility is in a completely different category.
“This is different than a call centre for Sasktel,” he said. “This puts people at risk.”
Saskenergy responded to the blockade by moving services usually provided out of the White City facility to its head office. That includes Sask 1st Call, which provides a line locate service for excavation work.
“We will try and make as many alternative arrangements as we can. But, I mean, we only have so many strategic facilities,” Burdeniuk said.
“This scares us.”