Viterra's Saskatchewan union plans for strike
By Allan Dowd
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 4 (Reuters) - Unionized workers will begin a limited strike at Viterra Inc (VT.TO), Canada's largest grain handler, on Monday, the day the company says it will impose terms of a contract offer that was rejected by the employees.
The Grain Services Union said the action will involve a walkout by unionized employees at Viterra's Regina, Saskatchewan, headquarters, and a refusal of workers at other facilities in the province to work overtime or do other additional duties.
The union is also looking at whether the company is violating federal labor law by imposing terms of a contract that was turned down by the Saskatchewan employees. The previous contract expired at the end of January.
Viterra said on Tuesday it would require employees to begin working next week under the terms of a new contract that a spokesman said changes the way wage increases are granted to bring the system in line with its nonunion workers.
It also said it was imposing a "rotating lockout" on workers, but warned that any employee who failed to report for duty as scheduled would be disciplined.
"It is quite unusual... We're looking at the legality of all of that," said GSU General Secretary Hugh Wagner. "We reserve the right to escalate our response if Viterra should choose to escalate its lockout."
Viterra said it has contingency plans to deal with any walkout, and expects to be operating normally next week.
"The GSU's action is disappointing given the significance of the company's offer and opportunities for additional compensation through a generous annual incentive program," Colleen Vancha, Viterra' vice president of industrial relations, said in a statement.
Viterra says the new contract will raise wages 27 percent over five years, but the wage hikes are linked to employees and the company meeting performance goals.
The union says the wage hike claim is misleading because the company's contract terms leave it up to management to decide whether individual employees actually receive the increases.
The sides are also at odds on issues such as hours of work and benefits.
The Saskatchewan union members rejected the proposal in June. However, unionized workers at grain workers at grain facilities in Alberta and Manitoba, who bargain separately from Saskatchewan, accepted the offer.
Viterra is the former Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, which changed its name after it took over rival Agricore United last year. (Reporting Allan Dowd, Editing Peter Galloway)
