Saying it is a move that had to be done to protect plant safety, the Co-Op Refinery has issued 48 hour lockout notice meaning around 800 employees represented by Unifor will be off the job.
Earlier this afternoon, Unifor 594 issued 48-hour Strike Notice to us. In the interest of public safety, we’ve issue a lockout notice effective at 5:30 p.m. today.
— Co-op Refinery (@CoopRefinery) December 3, 2019
The move comes after Unifor announced employees had almost unanimously voted in favour of a strike, but they did not say when that would occur and that 48 hours’ notice would be given.
In a release sent out late Tuesday afternoon, Co-Op officials say a 48 hour strike notice creates an unsafe operating environment and that it is vital to the safety of the operation that they control the timeline of labour action as management will take control of the facility thus allowing them to maintain a reliable supply fuel to their Western Canadian outlets.
Unifor contends the company is trying to rollback their pension plan while the company says their offer sees a wage increase of 11.75 percent over four years with a pension that is still one of the best in Canada.
