Viterra union issues 72 hour strike notice ahead of bargaining

Article content Grain and General Services Union (GSU) Locals 1 and 2 have given 72 hour strike notice to Viterra ahead of two days of bargaining with a federally appointed mediator. The company said it may consider a lockout “in the event an agreement cannot be reached,” according to a news release issued Tuesday.

Local 1 represents operations and maintenance workers, while Local 2 represents workers at the company’s head office in Regina. Minutes after the strike vote had concluded Tuesday afternoon, GSU’s general secretary Steve Torgerson said the aim is to send a message: The workers at GSU Locals 1 and 2 are ready to strike.

“We’ve been doing this for over a year,” Torgerson said. “We told them we were only going to give them so long to come back and bargain with us.” The notice allows both sides to still bargain, but it offers a clear indication that “we are not willing to wait any longer,” he added.

The union would be in position to strike Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. On Dec. 15, the union informed members that of the 90 per cent of voting Local 1 members, which represents Viterra country operations and maintenance, 77 per cent voted to reject the company’s final offer. Seventy seven per cent of Local 2, which represents Viterra head office workers, turned up to vote and 61 per cent of those members also voted to reject the final offer.

In its news release Tuesday, the company said it is “committed to safety in the workplace and has a long history of working fairly and respectfully with its employees.” The company is also committed to providing its workers with “competitive pay and benefits within a performance based process,” the release continued.

That last position is a sticking point for the union and Torgerson, who has said the language within the collective bargaining agreement does not illustrate competitive pay or a performance based approach. Communication from both the company and the union have emphasized a goal to avoid job action, but after a year of bargaining there is daylight between the two sides.

“We are committed to the collective bargaining process and remain cautiously optimistic that we will be able to arrive at an agreement with the GSU,” Jordan Jakubowkski, vice president of human resources for Viterra Canada, said in the release. Torgerson said that if there is movement made on Jan.

3 and 4, there is the ability to rescind the strike vote, “but we’re not willing to, in essence, give the company five minutes longer because we’ve we’ve been attempting and trying for so long.” GSU Locals 1 and 2 represent 436 workers in Saskatchewan. alsalloum@postmedia.com Share this Story : Viterra union issues 72 hour strike notice ahead of bargaining Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr.