Locked-out refugee centre workers back on picket line
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/06/2021 (1037 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Workers at Welcome Place, a temporary residence for refugees and newcomers, are back on the picket line this week after COVID-19 restrictions eased.
The centre, run by the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, locked out staff on April 27.
While the parties have been in talks, with the help of a conciliator, the divide between employer and union has changed very little, said Scott Clark of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the staff.
“It’s pretty apparent to us at this time that we’re still very far apart,” he said.
Clark said the negotiations have been unusual.
“It’s astounding that it’s the union that needed to reach out to seek conciliation, when it was the employer that took the action,” he said. “That’s usually the other way around.”
Fetheya Abdela, a 19-year employee at Welcome Place, said the damage may be irreparable.
“If I go back, there’s not the same relationship we used to have and there is no trust,” she said. Abdela is looking for another job and said for every day the lockout continues, it’s less likely she’ll return.
“But I want to stick with the group until the end,” she said.
Valentine Cerka, a worker on the picket line, said she and her colleagues are discouraged.
“How should we feel? Upset, disappointed, sad, angry,” she said. Cerka said picketers have witnessed people they don’t know going in and out of Welcome Place, who appear to be working. She’s not sure if they’re performing workers’ duties, but she said the possibility upsets her.
Clark said the union looks negatively on replacement workers, saying they undermine his members’ efforts.
“In light of a lockout,” he said, as opposed to a strike, which, “adds an additional sting to the notion of being a scab or a replacement worker.”
Clark said the council is trying to roll back rights employees had negotiated in previous agreements, and the union will not budge.
In April, Clark said staff had taken pay cuts that averaged 12.5 per cent. He said arbitration may be needed to settle the dispute.
While the council wouldn’t comment Thursday, it has said cuts are needed due to the pandemic and it was necessary to lock out staff.
cody.sellar@freepress.mb.ca
