Workers at the Co-op refinery in Regina have rejected the company’s latest contract offer.

Members of Unifor Local 594 voted in favour of rejecting the offer at a meeting Monday night. Results of the vote have not been released.

“Workers have sent a crystal clear message to Co-op’s management: drop the concessions,” Unifor Local 594 president Kevin Bittman said in a news release.

“Co-op’s owners are massively profitable. Demanding concessions from the workers who contribute to Co-op’s success is unnecessary and unfair."

In a news release Tuesday, Co-op said it was “disappointed” that its offer was rejected.

“The Refinery has never had a labour disruption in our history because we have always regarded the union as our partners in the success of the Refinery and the Co-operative Retailing System,” the refinery’s vice-president of operations, Gil Le Dressay, said in the release.

“It’s disappointing to see that tradition of cooperation potentially interrupted at a time when we all need to work together to ensure that one of Saskatchewan’s key economic engines remains competitive.”

Workers have been without a contract since January 2016. Unifor says it has met with the employer 21 times in bargaining until an impasse was reached in January 2017.

“The union entered mandatory mediation but the employer refuses to drop its most aggressive concessions,” Unifor said.

Le Dressay says the refinery came to the table with a fair offer “intended to protect current employees’ wages and benefits while at the same time ensuring the long-term success of the Co-op Refinery Complex. “

He says Co-op offered wage increases and additional job security – not job cuts, wage cuts or rollbacks – despite a downturn in the oil and gas industry.

A 14-day cooling off period ends at midnight on March 30. Co-op is urging the union to return to the bargaining table.

“There are a lot of people who will be hurt by a labour disruption, including union members,” Le Dressay said.

“We want to be talking to our union partners face-to-face instead of through the media and we hope that happens soon.”

With spring seeding around the corner, Co-op says it’s confident it can continue supplying fuel to retailers in the event of a labour disruption.

If a strike is called or a lockout is ordered, Co-op says it will hire contract workers to keeps the refinery running. It estimates operations would be reduced by around eight per cent if there's a labour disruption.

“If labour disruption does occur, our refinery’s production levels will be decreased to ensure safe operations,” Le Dressay said.

“In other words, our focus is always on maximum safety rather than maximum output.”

Earlier this month, the City of Regina granted a housing permit for temporary structures, which the union says will house replacement workers in the event of job action.

“Forcing us onto a picket line is one thing, but attempting to run a large-scale refinery with a skeleton replacement crew with questionable qualifications is a public safety risk,” said Bittman.

“The City Council has potentially endangered residents by caving into Co-op’s demands.”

Unifor is calling on the city to revoke the housing permit and force Co-op’s managers to resolve the labour dispute at the bargaining table.