Co-op refinery to lay off of 54 unionized employees

The Co-op Refinery Complex announced 54 permanent employees represented by Unifor Local 594 are expected to be laid off over the next six months.

This round of layoffs comes after the company announced in May of this year that it would look to cut back part of its inscope workforce as it sought “operational efficiencies.”

Nathan Kraemer, president of Local 594, said the news came down to the union on Monday morning and with Facebook and other such applications down through the day, it was difficult to communicate with members. In fact, it was unclear what positions were even going to be directly affected.

An internal memo from Local 594 claims that the company originally sought 90 layoffs. Earlier this year, the union claimed the company was looking to reduce the workforce by 87 positions.

“We have some numbers but not specific jobs, so 27 in process, 19 in maintenance, stuff like that, but that's the extent of what we know and as far as I'm concerned one layoff is too many and unnecessary,” said Kraemer.

In a media release issued Monday, the CRC said “the need for a workforce reduction is largely the result of operational efficiencies realized over the past number of years as the company prepares to transition to the low carbon economy.”

There is currently a Labour Relations Board hearing taking place between the union and the company regarding the master operator position at the refinery. The union filed an unfair labour practice against the company.

Brad Delorey, the spokesperson for the CRC, said the full process will start tomorrow of actually notifying and laying people off at the plant. With respect to the master operator position, Delorey would not comment.

One thing Delorey said though is that positions “are gone,” and will not be hired out to contractors.

“Our industry is changing, regulatory changes, alternative fuel sources, we've attempted to minimize impact to our people while also looking at the competitiveness and the sustainability of the jobs we currently have,” said Delorey.

The union and the company have long butted heads in public and in the courts since a lockout in 2019 that saw some 700 unionized employees take to pickets outside the refinery. At the peak of the dispute, barricades were erected outside gates restricting tankers from entering the refinery.

“We have tried to minimize the number of people affected by this workforce reduction. However, our business is not immune from the challenges our industry is facing,” Gil Le Dressay, vice-president of refinery operations, said in the release.

The CRC said the decision was made only after it ensured any workforce reduction would not impact the safety and reliability of the refinery.