Possible Viterra strike or lockout in Sask. looms in early 2024

Negotiations between the union and the company have been ongoing for more than a year and will pick back up in the first week of January.

Published Dec 27, 2023  •  2 minute read

Exterior of the Viterra offices on Victoria avenue on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 in Regina. Photo by KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post

Negotiations will continue following an affirmative strike vote and a rejection of a final offer from Viterra by the Grain and General Services Union (GSU) Locals 1 and 2 in Saskatchewan.

A message sent to workers represented by the GSU said “Your bargaining committee is cautiously optimistic” about a return to the bargaining table on Jan. 3-4 of 2024 with a federally appointed mediator.

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Steve Torgerson, GSU general secretary, said on Wednesday that a strike vote in mid-November gave a clear commitment to job action should negotiations fail.

On Dec. 15, the union informed members of the 90 per cent of Local 1 members, which represents Viterra country operations and maintenance, that voted 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.

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Negotiations between the union and the company have been ongoing for more than a year.

“We’re in a legal strike position and so is the company,” said Torgerson. “We do want to get back to the bargaining table. We gave them about two weeks because, hey, listen, we know it’s the holiday season. We’re ready to negotiate right away.”

Torgerson said he thinks the strong message sent by an overwhelming strike vote and a resounding rejection of the final offer will put the union in better position at the bargaining table as both parties hope to avoid job action.

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Some of the sticking points in negotiations include the ability to work from home, when workers are called into work, equity and a lack of incentives for jobs done on time, explained Torgerson.

Concerning work from home, Torgerson said they’re not looking for an “unfettered” ability to work from home “but we do want that ability.”

He said when it comes to loading cars, the company gets a premium if cars are loaded within a 24-hour period.

“None of that money makes it back to employees in any sort of reward,” he said, adding short notice of when the cars are coming in makes it impossible to plan ahead, which can wear on workers.

“The money doesn’t really matter when people are missing birthdays and missing holidays and missing things like that,” he said.

The company did not reply to a request for comment as negotiations are set to resume next week. Both the company and the union would have to give a 72-notice before either a strike or a lockout occurred.

Locals 1 and 2 represent about 450 workers.

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