(Evan Radford/980 CJME)

By CJME News Staff

Unifor workers at SaskTel, SaskPower, SaskEnergy not returning to work

Oct 8, 2019 | 10:47 AM

As job action continues at the province’s Crown corporations, the one thing that’s for certain is SaskTel employees represented by Unifor will not be returning to their jobs.

On Monday, Unifor said its striking workers would be temporarily putting down their picket signs and returning to their jobs on Tuesday, on a work-to-rule basis.

However, SaskTel put a wrinkle in those plans, announcing workers won’t be allowed back, saying the threat of intermittent walkouts would make it too difficult to maintain service.

“Unfortunately, SaskTel has decided to lock us out immediately. The other Crowns actually have not given us any notice whatsoever. We’ll certainly be on the picket line at all SaskTel locations,” said Scott Doherty, the executive assistant to Unifor national president Jerry Dias.

Early Tuesday morning, all indications were that employees at the Water Security Agency would be allowed back on the job for work.

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An email from the provincial water agency said: “The Water Security Agency is not locking out employees (Tuesday) and will be in a work-to-rule situation as indicated by Unifor.”

SaskEnergy and SaskPower initially said their employees who are Unifor members would be allowed back to work, but a Unifor local president said in a media release that neither SaskEnergy- nor SaskPower-based union members would be going back to their jobs.

“We’re going to stay on the picket line in solidarity with SaskTel and to ensure that our own membership is not divided by the employer,” Ian Davidson said in the release. He’s the Unifor local 649 president representing workers at SaskEnergy and SaskPower.

More than 5,000 workers at six Crown corporations and one Crown agency began striking Friday. That number reportedly comprises 3,700 workers at SaskTel, 800 at SaskEnergy, 520 at SaskPower, 120 at the Water Security Agency, and 85 at SaskWater.