Workers' Struggles Across the
Country
Lockout of Co-op Refinery Workers in Regina
Several hundred workers rallied with locked
out Co-op Refinery Complex workers on their
picket line on January 20 and 21 in Regina. They
came from as far away as Gander and Vancouver,
and included members of the national executive
of Unifor.
The mass action controlled all movement in
and out of the refinery. Regina police responded
by arresting 14 individuals including Unifor's
National President and its Western Regional
Director, claiming that an injunction naming
Local 594, which imposed the condition that
picketers could only stop trucks for 10 minutes,
also applies to Unifor executives and members
from other locals.
The more than 800 workers at the Co-op Refinery
Complex (CRC) of the Federated Co-operatives
Limited (FCL) in Regina were locked out on
December 5, 2019. The lockout was imposed by the
company in response to the union's 48-hour
strike notice issued on December 3, 2019. The
workers, members of Unifor local 594, had been
in negotiations, then mediation, for several
months during which FCL, contrary to the
commitment made in previous negotiations,
insisted on replacing the existing defined
benefit pension plan with an inferior plan. The
workers justly stood firm in defence of their
pension plan, a plan that had been agreed to as part of previous contract
negotiations.
Throughout the lockout the company has issued
media advisories, put up billboards, and made
every effort to portray their position as "fair"
and the workers' claims unreasonable. Their
claim of "fairness" is based on the company's
position that workers should have to
"contribute" to their pension plan. The current,
previously negotiated arrangement, is that the
company funds the defined benefits plan. What is
not mentioned in the context of "fairness" is
that the amount that the company puts into the
pension plan was negotiated in the past and
forms part of the compensation package, along
with wages, vacations, sick leave, etc. that the
workers agreed to accept in exchange for their
labour which creates the company's wealth. FCL
is appealing to 'public opinion' to recognize
that times have changed, fossil fuels are on the
way out, that in order to be 'sustainable' the
company will deny the workers what is theirs by
right as the producers of wealth in order that
its profits continue to increase.
Rally January 20, 2020 in Regina in support of
Co-op Refinery workers.
The workers have responded with a resounding No! Throughout the lockout there have been actions
by workers in communities throughout
Saskatchewan and as far west as Vancouver Island
in support of the refinery workers, including a
boycott of Co-op retail outlets.
The refinery is continuing to operate with
"replacement workers," management and scabs. The
company actually built a work camp for scabs
months before the strike notice in preparation
for the lockout, so as to continue production.
In a letter dated January 20, responding to a
letter from the National Farmers Union (NFU) appealing
for a return to negotiations to settle the
dispute, FCL boasts that they implemented this
plan as far back as October 2019. In their
letter of January 17, the National Farmers Union
writes, "It is disturbing that a key issue in
the dispute is whether workers will be able to
use the pensions previously agreed to through
collective bargaining and earned during their
careers at the refinery, or if they will be
forced to accept one that is less valuable. A
roll-back in pensions is an issue for the whole
community: reneging on the pension promise is a
way for companies to transfer a portion of money
earned by the workers into the company's assets.
If Co-op succeeds, other companies will be
emboldened to seize their workers' pension
funds." The company's response, besides the
claims that the pension fund must change and
that the workers are already highly paid,
outlines what it calls the "business continuity
plan." They say "[...] we understand the
criticality of the CRC's fuel supply to the
Western Canadian economy as a whole, and to
agricultural producers in particular. That is
why the Board supported management's
determination to have an effective business
continuity plan (BCP) in place to ensure safe
and reliable fuel production in the event of any
potential interruption to production and
supply."
The NFU noted that "It is also disturbing to
learn that Co-op management had prepared for a
lengthy lock-out by building a work camp to
house scabs, and has been spending resources on
helicopter flights to transport scabs across the
picket line. Co-op management has apparently
invested heavily in measures designed to prolong
the dispute." FCL responded that "Again, it is
worth noting that the CRC did not commence
construction of business continuity facilities
on-site until the final, Unifor-driven break
down of mediation in October." (WF
emphasis.)
The fact that the employer had a plan in place
to undermine the workers' struggle months in
advance of the strike notice only strengthens
the determination of the Co-op Refinery workers
to defend their existing working conditions,
particularly their pensions. This just stand
deserves the support of all Canadian workers.
This article was published in
Number 2 - January 22, 2020
Article Link:
Workers' Struggles Across the
Country: Lockout of Co-op Refinery Workers in Regina
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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