REGINA -- Unifor and the Co-op Refinery are no closer to reaching an agreement as their labour dispute continues.
The union representing locked out workers at the Co-op Refinery says blockades have been removed at some of the gates into the refinery. However, the Co-op Refinery says most of the blockades remain.
Unifor president Jerry Dias said gate seven on Fleet Street, the main focus of the labour dispute, is still blocked.
Dias met with representatives from Federated Co-operatives Limited on Monday, but says he doesn’t see an end to the dispute in sight.
Dias also said that he wants Premier Scott Moe to appoint an arbitrator to help the two sides come to an agreement.
The premier's office says "the government has not received a formal proposal from Unifor requesting binding arbitration and would need to receive more detail on what he is proposing before responding."
In a statement, FCL said it received a counter-proposal from Unifor on Wednesday morning and plans to review that proposal.
However, FCL says it's waiting for Unifor to remove all barriers from the refinery entrances.
“We stated clearly our willingness to engage in meaningful conversations at the bargaining table, but reiterated our position that the rule of law must be followed. This is defined by two Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench orders and a subsequent ruling by Justice Keene that Unifor is in contempt of those orders,” Heather Ryan, Vice-President of Human Resources with FCL, said in a news release.
Unifor was found in contempt of a court order that limited the amount of time they could block trucks last week. The union was fined $100,000.
