Rogers Communications has threatened to lock out 26 former Shaw employees in the Kootenays who unionized in February 2024.
The company issued notice of the lockout to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213 on March 12, to be effective on March 19 at 12:01 a.m.
Rogers and IBEW Local 213 have been at the bargaining table since June of last year, working towards signing a collective agreement. However, IBEW Local 213 assistant business manager Rob Nedila says the company’s most recent offer slashes the unionized employees’ compensation packages.
The offer proposes cuts of 4 to 25 per cent in total compensation for hourly employees, while unit-based employees would face even higher cuts—one as high as 48 per cent—by being forced to change classifications.
“We’ve been in bargaining with the company since June last year and, um, have made some progress, but unfortunately, on the monetary piece, it looks like the company wants to make some pretty severe cuts across the board. Their latest offer proposes a wide swath of cuts to the whole bargaining unit and forces classification changes,” said Nedila.
He says Rogers was unable to provide any reasoning behind the cutbacks, adding that the lockout notice came as a shock, as the union has yet to initiate a strike vote.
“It comes as a surprise based on the fact that we have not done anything to warrant it. We have not taken a strike vote. We’ve been exchanging offers. We believe we’ve done nothing to warrant this lockout.”
The union held a ratification vote on a previous offer tabled in December, which contained similar proposed cuts, but it was rejected.
Nedila says this new offer only features slight tweaks, which prompted IBEW Local 213 to file an Unfair Labour Practice Complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) for surface bargaining and refusing regular increases in pay.
“We’re alleging that the company is going through the motions, that they don’t ever want to conclude a collective agreement.”
Additionally, Nedila has accused Rogers of “union busting” after alleging that it has offered all of its non-unionized employees significant pay increases along with bonuses.
“Recently, the company offered all of its non-union employees a five per cent increase in base pay and a five to 7.5 per cent bonus lump sum. The company is trying to send a strong message that it’s bad to be in a union. And that’s what it’s all about. We think they’re just union busting.”
The union filed its final complaint submission on Tuesday and is waiting for the Canada Labour Relations Board to make a decision.
If Rogers follows through with the lockout, Nedila fears it could have a significant impact on telecommunications operations in the region, with staff located in Castlegar, Nelson, Grand Forks, Trail, Cranbrook, Creston, Fairmont and Fernie.
“The communities will be heavily impacted because these employees are experts in the local area. They’re friends and neighbours; they’ve worked and lived in the area for decades and have all the local knowledge of the network. So, unfortunately, this could impact people’s internet and TV services. And if the network’s not being maintained, it could mean outages in certain areas and customers without service.”
The union hopes to present a counterproposal to the company in the near future, with Nedila noting that the bargaining team “is going to do our best to get to a collective agreement.”
Rogers said in an email to Vista Radio that it is committed to reaching a balanced deal.
“Our goal is to achieve a negotiated collective agreement with our technicians, and we are working hard to reach a balanced deal while remaining committed to continue meeting the needs of our customers in the Kootenays.” said Rogers Communications statement.
Rogers has also been participating in a conciliation process with the support of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and claim that so far, the union has not been whiling to facilitate a vote on a proposed collective agreement.
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