REGINA -- The union representing locked out Co-op Refinery workers says it has received a special mediator's report on the labour dispute.
Unifor 594 says it is reviewing the report and will provide a further update on Friday.
On Thursday, Unifor National President Jerry Dias said this dispute has been “nasty” and adds as the lockout went on it became clear some sort of mediation was necessary with Co-op’s use of replacement workers and high tension on the picket line.
“I give the Moe government credit for understanding that there was no end in sight and a lot of the picket line activities were causing a lot of grief for many people as it relates to the actions that we took to impede the progress and to slow things down at the refinery,” Dias said. “But I don't apologize for anything.”
Dias would not speak on the details of the report Thursday afternoon, saying the terms are still being discussed by the local bargaining committee so it can determine its next steps. He noted a decision had not yet been made at that time.
“We will make our decision as to what we think is fair, and how we are looking forward to proceeding,” Dias said. “We’ll wait to see what the Co-op Refinery does, but at the end of the day, we need to find a resolution for the dispute. It’s gone on way too long and frankly with this pandemic we’ve all got bigger issues to deal with than this dispute.”
Mediated discussions between the two sides started on Feb. 18 and lasted for 20 days. The province appointed Vince Ready to meet with the two sides.
Job action began on Dec. 5.
The Co-op Refinery said it is also reviewing the report with its own bargaining committee and has five days to respond.
