Eleven weeks after walking off the job to back contract demands, striking workers at Viterra’s Regina head office returned to work Sept. 22.
They returned after voting 57 to 43 percent to accept a new five-year contract, but the deal was far from what they had hoped for when they went on strike July 7.
The new contract is essentially the same as the company’s offer back in July, which prompted members of the GSU to hit the bricks after being without a contract since Jan. 31.
On two of the key issues, the company succeeded in introducing a performance-based salary system, and in taking over sole control of the employees’ benefit plan, which had previously been jointly administered.
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The union did make some gains, including the right to appeal employee performance ratings, retaining overtime after 37.5 hours a week and a new bonus program linked to corporate performance.
But a contingency plan that enabled the company to continue operating without significant disruption meant the employees were unable to win on the major issues and accepted what Viterra had described as its last, best and final offer.
Hugh Wagner, general secretary of the Grain Services Union, acknowledged union members didn’t get what they wanted, but said they had no choice but to go on strike.
“The members took a stand and fought a good fight,” he said. “People are proud of the stand they took. A lot of this revolves around dignity and respect.”
Eleven weeks is a long time to be on a picket line, he said, adding that the striking employees eventually had to make concessions that are “extremely hard to swallow.”
Viterra spokesperson Mike Brooks declined to assess the outcome in terms of winners or losers.
“We don’t look at it that way,” he said. “We are very glad the union voted in favour of the offer and are eagerly awaiting their return so we can get on with the normal course of business.”
He said the new pay structure and the takeover of the benefits plan will give the company more flexibility.
The settlement provides for a lump sum payment to employees upon signing the new contract equal to six percent of their wage, retroactive to Feb. 1 (not including the strike period).
Employees will then be eligible for annual increases of six, five, five and five percent, depending on an annual performance review.
Jason Childs, an associate professor of economics at the University of Regina, said performance-based wage systems work well in an environment where it’s easy to measure the productivity of an individual.
“But if your work depends on teamwork or someone else in the chain, you can be significantly harmed by things or people over which you have no control,” he said.
Such a system is also open to abuse, he added, with employees receiving poor reviews for reasons unrelated to their work.
Childs said the biggest issue in the short term will be creating a positive work environment.
There could be hard feelings between those employees who struck and those who crossed the picket line (an estimated 20 to 30 out of 190), between those who voted in favour of the contract and those who voted no and between employees and managers.
Brooks and Wagner agreed there could be some tension in the workplace for a while, but expect it will not create long-term problems.
Approximately 600 GSU members in the country operations and maintenance bargaining unit have been voting on the same contract at a series of meetings. The results were to be released this week.
