The lockout at the Co-op Refinery Complex in Regina has been going for over 80 days. Unifor wants to get back to the bargaining table and back to work, and the strike has spread out of Regina, in order to add further pressure to Federated Co-op Limited (FCL) to get back to bargaining. Unifor was blocking at the card lock on York Road in Yorkton to add that pressure.
Derek Empringham, part of the blockade in Yorkton, said their goal was to show Scott Banda and FCL that they want to get back to bargaining and back to work.
“We’re just stopping vehicles here today, getting them to use competitors and elsewhere to fuel up, to put some pressure on Co-op.”
Empringham said some of the issues are that they want them to stop bringing in scab camps, but more importantly, get back to the bargaining table in good faith.
“We just wanted to remove concessions, not to eliminate our maintenance jobs and just keep everyone working. We’ve offered to contribute into our pension already, and that wasn’t good enough for them. We just want to get back to work and get on with our lives.”
With the strike spilling out into locations like Yorkton, Empringham said the goal is to show FCL that they’re serious and willing to do what it takes to get back to the bargaining table.
In a statement, FCL claimed that the blockade was illegal, and stated that they were exploring legal options in the wake of the action.
"Unifor continues its use of illegal blockades despite the mediation process being contingent on no illegal activity,” said Heather Ryan, FCL Vice-President of Human Resources. “It’s difficult to accept Unifor’s sincerity and commitment to the bargaining process when we see these tactics taking place during the mediation process.”
