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16 June, 2008
The Canadian province of Quebec’s Labour Relations Board issued a stern reprimand to Petro-Canada over its attempt to circumvent the bargaining committee of the Communications, Energy, & Paperworkers (CEP). In a 4 June ruling, the provincial government ordered the company to cease its intimidation of individual workers, and to begin good-faith bargaining with CEP Local 175 of Montréal in earnest efforts to end the company’s seven-month lockout of 260 refinery workers there.
Negotiations did re-start on 13 June, but there was no immediate indication that Canada’s second largest energy company would meet the CEP’s National Chemical and Energy Bargaining agenda. In prior talks this spring, the company placed further and more severe concessions on the table than what was proposed at the time of the 17 November 2007 lockout.
CEP Local 175 Members Still Standing Strong
Then in early May, just prior to submitting another in a series of “final offers” to Local 175, managers at the Point-aux-Trembles refinery in Montréal’s east end contacted individual union members. They threatened closure of the refinery, urged an overthrow of the union’s bargaining committee, and intimidated workers in attempting to coax them to accept the company’s regressive proposal.
In the 4 June ruling, Labour Relations Board Commissioner Suzanne Moro ordered the company to “cease attempts to impede the activities of CEP Local 175, attempts to interfere in the activities” of the union and “attempts to dominate” Local 175.
The writ ordered company representatives to cease efforts “to create double negotiations and to negotiate a collective agreement in good faith.” Canadian press reports cited the company with denying the charges. But workers taped the conversations, and presented that as evidence to the labour board.
“The importance of this decision is it demonstrates what has been ongoing since bargaining began,” said CEP Administrative Vice President for Quebec, Joe Gargiso, who also heads the union’s Chemicals and Energy Bargaining Programme. “Petro-Canada has had no intention of bargaining in good faith, only seeking a strategy of imposing a new collective agreement that our members don’t want.”
CEP's Admin. Vice President (Quebec) Joe Gargiso
He added the locked-out workers are withstanding the pressures “extremely well,” and that they are “united and standing solidly behind their bargaining committee.” He also said the 260 oil workers are receiving strong financial support from the CEP, and from CEP’s energy local unions across Canada.
On 24-25 May, the union’s National Chemicals and Energy local unions met in Montréal, and adopted a strong statement to the company’s president and CEO, Ron Brenneman, saying:
“We find it totally unacceptable that in Montréal, your Company attempts to break the national Bargaining Settlement made with CEP at (Petro-Canada’s) Edmonton refinery in April 2007. This settlement has been followed by Petro-Canada in its other locations, as well as by Imperial Oil, Shell, Husky, Suncor, etc.
“And we find it unacceptable and shameful that your Company is attempting to trash the Montréal collective agreement by trying to impose a host of rollbacks in a clear design to curtail the union’s ability to play its role in the workplace and ensure a safe environment.”
Petro-Canada has further breached Quebec’s labour law by employing 34 replacement workers during the lockout. The inexperienced workers have teamed with managers, who are working 70-hour work-weeks in order to maintain outflow, and the combination has created obvious safety and environmental hazards to the refinery, which is located in a residential area.