Unifor members back proposals from mediators
Refinery’s demands for pension changes prevail as price to end bitter lockout
The members of Unifor Local 594 want to be back at work with a new contract, even it means giving up benefits they had going into the bargaining process.
On Monday evening, members of Unifor Local 594 voted 98 per cent in favour of recommendations made by provincially appointed mediators Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers.
Local 594 president Kevin Bittman said the deal favours the Coop Refinery Complex (CRC) and Federated Coopertatives Ltd. (FCL). It’s an assertion Ready seems to agree with.
“Put bluntly, implementation of our recommendations would result in significant cost savings for the Employer,” wrote Ready in the report.
Still, the FCL rejected the eight recommendations made by the mediators citing the perilous economic times at hand and the COVID -19 virus.
“To use the pandemic as an excuse to try and pull more out of the workers after they’ve given major concessions,” said Bittman. “It’s not right. It’s not the responsible thing to do.”
In an emailed statement, Brad Delorey, spokesperson for the CRC, said “we very much appreciate the work of Mr. Ready and Ms. Rogers. We felt that the report contained a number of helpful recommendations.”
The recommendations include union members paying into a defined benefit pension plan at a rate of four per cent in the first year and eight per cent by the second year after striking a deal.
Pensions were the biggest sticking point between the union and management and Ready’s recommendations move things farther from the status quo than the union wanted.
FCL was looking to transition all employees onto a defined contribution (DC) pension as a cost-saving measure.
Bittman said entering the mediation process meant possibly relinquishing positions and giving up things the union had fought for in past collective agreements.
“It was up to the mediator to decide what was a fair deal and we were going to have to live with it,” said Bittman.
“The members were willing to accept the fact that we had to go back way more than we wanted to, but that was the deal.”
Delorey said the company wouldn’t bargain in the media, but in the same letter rejecting the recommendations, the company said it would deliver an offer to the union.
In Bittman’s opinion, the actions of CRC undermine the legitimacy of the special mediation process and he is concerned that it will not be respected by other parties going forward.
“The next time special mediation is used, nobody will take it seriously because they’re going to be guarded against one side using it to their advantage and that’s not what it’s for,” said Bittman.
Following FCL’S rejection of the recommendations, Unifor National president Jerry Dias said he would formally request Premier Scott Moe intervene in the labour dispute.
“We need Premier Moe to legislate an end to this and force FCL to accept the now-ratified deal,” said Dias.
On Monday, the premier said the government was still holding out hope for both sides to bury the hatchet and wrap up the 109-day dispute.
“It would be our hope that over the course of the next short while both of those entities will continue to work together,” said Moe.
But, the premier added that the province was “entertaining what options are available.”
Bittman said he’s frustrated by the company “moving goalposts” throughout the dispute.
“No one wants to believe us that we’re not greedy,” he said.
“We’ve saved the company millions of dollars a year out of our pockets and they still want more.”