Council calls on province to end lockout
For Unifor Local 594 member Nic Skulski, not being able to properly provide for his 24-day-old daughter because of the Co-op Refinery lockout is heartbreaking.
“I’m not unique in that situation. There’s 730 brothers and sisters that are in the same boat as me,” said Skulski during a virtual city council meeting Thursday. “This lockout has really hammered down our community.”
The impact of the lockout, now almost in its fifth month, was made clear by two passionate delegations and 11 written submissions at Thursday’s meeting. Not only has it been hard on union members and the local economy, but it has caused rifts with extended families and “pitted neighbour against neighbour,” said Carla Mccrie.
“The city should not want this dispute to go on any longer and should call upon the provincial government to use the power at its disposal to end this dispute,” she said.
And that’s exactly what council decided to do.
In a nine to one vote, council passed a motion brought forward by Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Stevens to call on the provincial government “to use all of the tools at its disposal, up to and including legislation that ends the lockout on the terms recommended by the special mediator, Vince Ready, or legislation that allows for binding third-party arbitration, to secure an equitable resolution to the dispute between the parties.” During his argument, Stevens said while it is rare, it has happened — in Saskatchewan and federally.
The union voted to accept recommendations made by Ready and Amanda Rogers in March, but they were rejected by the Co-op Refinery, which made a final offer at the end of that month. That deal was rejected by the union on Wednesday.
“It is now clear that collective bargaining has run its course and in this case, will not work,” said Ward 2 Coun. Bob Hawkins.
Councillors receive numerous emails every day from locked-out workers and other groups impacted by the dispute; up to 50 a day according to Stevens. Mayor Michael Fougere said he’s received more than 1,700 emails from workers.
While he described the dispute as a corrosive, disruptive and painful “exercise” for the community, Fougere voted against the motion, stating it is not the city’s place to get involved in a private labour dispute. The rest of city council — except for Ward 7 Coun. Sharron Bryce who was unable to attend — felt a push from city council was warranted in order to find the final solution to a “disturbing problem.”
The issue of what the dispute is costing the city was also raised. According to Supt. Lorilee Davies, the dispute has cost the Regina Police Service approximately $111,000 in hard costs, including overtime pay, but that is a small fraction of the cost in terms of staff hours needed to address the dispute since it began in early December.
In an interview Thursday, Kevin Bittman, president of Unifor Local 594, said that the cost to police and the fire department is all the more reason for the city and province to take a more active role in resolving the dispute.
“The city’s recognizing that having 730 workers locked out isn’t good for the economy of your city,” he said, adding he wasn’t surprised Fougere was the only dissenting vote. “I don’t think Mike Fougere has ever been a friend of labour in his life.”
On Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe reiterated his position that binding arbitration was unprecedented and not something the province was willing to consider.
In an interview Thursday, Gil Le Dressay, vice-president refinery operations for Federated Co-operatives Limited, said he echoed the province’s stance.
“We believe disputes are best handled within those organizations. Whether it’s our industry — oil industry — or the mining (industry) or anywhere else,” he said. With files from Alec Salloum jackerman@postmedia.com