Unifor employees at the Co-op Refinery will be locked out of work starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
The lockout notice was issued by the company after 800 union employees issued a 48 our strike notice on Tuesday, to ensure operations can still run during the strike.
During question period, NDP Leader Ryan Meili asked how the government will ensure operations are safe during the lockout. “During this time Saskatchewan people, and of course Regina residents in particular, need to know that any work being done will be safe during this lockout. What is the governments plan to ensure safety during the lockout?”
Premier Scott Moe says he has been in touch with both sides of the bargaining table. “We understand that the refinery does have a plan in place to keep the plant operational and safe with this subsequent job action.”
Moe reiterates that the best agreements are always made at the bargaining table and he hopes that will happen here soon.
The NDP is also calling on the Sask. Party to improve schools across the province.
Education Critic Carla Beck says about $1.5 billion dollars is needed in repairs, 70 schools are over capacity and the government is missing its own targets for preventative maintenance funding.
She believes needs are outpacing investments that are being made by the government.
“You have issues of critical overcrowding in some divisions, but you also have the condition of existing facilities that have been crumbling since they are well passed their end of life,” stated Beck.
A Facility Condition Index report, which measures the condition of individual buildings and those managed by Central Services, found that the majority of school divisions in Saskatchewan had a poor FCI score.
Beck explained how school boards used to submit their top five capital requests, but now boards only send in three requests and there is little information from the provincial government detailing how they are achieved.
“I think what we see here is not only an under-investment in infrastructure, we also see a lack of transparency about that process. It’s a concern.”
Minister of Education Gord Wyant says that is not true and the government is meeting its goals. “Here’s the record with the respect to capital, we have 168 percent increase in our preventative maintenance budget just over the last couple of years. A 390 percent increase in capital funding over the last 12 years, 48 new schools, 23 significant renovations.”
Wyant adds that they continue to gather information from the school divisions as they get ready to build next year’s capital budget.
(Files from Moises Canales)
