Court order restricts Rideau Carleton Raceway picket

Locked-out workers on the Rideau Carleton Raceway picket lines describe a court order that forces them off the property and closer to the high-traffic Albion Road as unsafe.

• Driver charged after man hit by vehicle on Rideau Carleton Raceway picket line

"I'm a bit concerned about getting injured," said Kate Seniuk, a locked out slot attendant, on Thursday after voicing her concerns at a City of Ottawa committee meeting. "I don't feel very safe."

In April, a driver plowed through the picket line, hitting a locked-out worker, who was thrown through the air and left with a serious head injury.

More than 120 employees have been locked out since December because of stalled contract negotiations with their employer, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. 

The temporary injunction, which came into effect last Friday, also limits the number of pickets at each of the three parking lot entrances, and limits the amount of time vehicles waiting to get into the lot can be stopped by the workers to a single minute. 

The temporary injunction will remain in effect until the motion by the OLG and the Rideau Carleton Raceway for a permanent injunction is before court. OLG Slots at Rideau Carleton is a tenant of the Rideau Carleton Raceway on the property at 4837 Albion Rd.

OLG calls injunction 'agreement'

OLG spokesman Rui Brum described the injunction as an "agreement" between the union and the OLG. He said the OLG was forced to take the matter to court after the union refused to work out a "picket line protocol."

Brum said vehicles had to wait up to an hour waiting to get into the Rideau Carleton Raceway parking lot — until the injunction limited the stop time to one minute.

"Those wait times were not acceptable," he said.

Brian Lancaster, a locked out valet attendant who also attended the agriculture and rural affairs committee meeting at City Hall to highlight concerns about the injunction, said workers have a "stop line" at the raceway entrances to inform members of the public about the labour dispute.

"As the cars turn in on Albion Road, we use that opportunity to provide them with information on what's going on with the lockout," he said. "This injunction has pushed us out to the city line, which really is only maybe 10 feet in from the road itself. So it's really, really causing a health and safety issue."

Larry Rousseau, a regional vice-president for the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said bargaining between the union and the OLG remains stalled — and said negotiations should be prioritized over picket line restrictions.

"Why is the OLG wasting taxpayer time to table an injunction instead of being at the table to resolve this issue?" he said. 

He added that while the terms of the temporary injunction were an agreement between both parties, they were not something the union "desired or felt was necessary," as locked-out workers have carried out " lawful, peaceful and orderly" pickets.

"We will be challenging the employer's request for an injunction vigorously at the full hearing of the matter and asking that it be dismissed by the court," he said.

Councillor has 'lots of concerns'

Coun. George Darouze, who represents the Osgoode ward where the raceway is located, said he has been receiving volumes of complaints about the drawn-out labour dispute on the busy commuter road.

"I never expected it to be that long," he said.

Why is the OLG wasting taxpayer time to table an injunction instead of being at the table to resolve this issue.- Larry Rousseau, PSAC

Darouze has previously raised concerns about the safety of both those on the picket line and motorists along Albion Road, which has blind spots.

After the locked out worker was hit on April 16, Darouze called for more police presence — and urged both sides of the labour dispute to return to the bargaining table. He said he continue to talk to police daily about the labour dispute.

"We're monitoring the situation every day and I do have lots of concerns," he said.

As a councillor, he said his "hands are tied" when it comes to the orders by the court. But he said he hoping the agriculture and rural affairs committee will send a letter to the OLG, along with the premier and finance minister "to express our concern."

Brum said the OLG offered a "fair and reasonable" 3.5 per cent wage increase for workers over five years but that the union was arguing for an increase of nearly 20 per cent over the same period.

Read the full injunction here.