Western Forest Products has a proposal for its striking workers.
That proposal is binding arbitration. The company says it’s inviting the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 back to the negotiating table. The arbitration would be handled by independent mediators Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers.
Talks have broken down between the workers and the company and WFP says there are no future mediation dates scheduled at this time. WFP says it believes progress was made on several proposals during mediated talks this month and the company remains available to resume discussions at any time.
“Our employees, contractors, their families, our customers and operating communities are all counting on us to resolve the labour dispute,” said Don Demens, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western.
“While we were encouraged by the progress we made during previous mediated talks, with no future dates scheduled, this step demonstrates our commitment to getting employees back to work and products to our customers.”
The strike has been going one since July 1st and affects all of WFP’s United Steelworkers certified manufacturing and timberlands operations in British Columbia, impacting approximately 1,500 of the company’s hourly employees and approximately 1,500 employees working for the company’s timberland operations and contractors.
