Trucker accuses union of disobeying injunction in Regina refinery lockout

The owner of a trucking company says workers on the picket line at Regina's Co-op refinery are violating a court injunction that restricts how long pickets can block trucks entering and leaving the facility.
   
Justice Janet McMurtry ruled on Dec. 24 that the union could stop vehicles trying to get in and out of the refinery for a maximum of 10 minutes to provide information on the dispute or until the driver declines the information.

At that point, McMurtry's ruling said, drivers should be allowed to "proceed without interference."

Drivers attempting to enter or leave the refinery property on Thursday were stopped for about 10 minutes by Unifor members reading and carrying literature, despite some trucks bearing signs asking to be let through the lines. 

Justin Wright, who owns Lowridin' Carriers Ltd., said the injunction isn't being followed by the picketers, even when his drivers bring a copy of the order with them.

"It's getting frustrating," Wright said on Thursday. "It's almost like a scripted song and dance with these guys, it's 'Our interpretation is this and we get 10 minutes to do that.'" 

Wright said the truckers are unhappy with the orders that are being passed down by Unifor rather than the people picketing.

Wright said he and his fellow truckers, who are contracted by the company, are caught in the middle of the dispute between the employer and employees. 

"We're just trying to do our jobs, which is to get the citizens their fuel," Wright said.

Wright said he'd like to see the injunction followed properly and asked for both sides to meet at the bargaining table to end the dispute as soon as they can.

Unifor Local 594 president Kevin Bittman said he hasn't seen drivers being held up, but said the union interprets the order as meaning pickets have 10 minutes to communicate with drivers.

Bittman said Unifor understands the truck drivers are frustrated by being slowed up by picketers, but said the blame lies at the feet of Co-op, not the union. 

"The Co-op refinery is who locked us out," Bittman said. "We understand that the truckers are stuck in the middle, but they should bring it up with the Co-op, not us." 

When asked if both parties would return to the bargaining table soon, Bittman said the Co-op needs to take concessions off the table before the union would return.