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Tensions flared when an Emterra Environmental truck tried to cross the picket lines Friday morning.
It led to a standoff that lasted about three hours between striking workers and management, before the RCMP diffused the situation and allowed the truck through.
Emterra employees began the strike on Monday after the union was unable to reach a deal with the company.
Marty Gibbons, President of the United Steelworkers Local 1-417, says he wants to get back to the bargaining table and find a solution, but he learned a mediator will not be available until the end of July.
“Tempers are up there. People are hungry. People want to get back to work,” Gibbons said. “This employer doesn’t seem to be interested in getting back to the table.”
#Kamloops Emterra workers USW Local 419 on strike for fair wages and a safe working environment #bclab #fairnessworks pic.twitter.com/RVMvz5SQuM
— Barb Nederpel (@BNederpel) June 22, 2015
Gibbons received an email from Emterra representatives at the end of the day Thursday saying they wanted to meet and discuss the current financial situation, but Gibbons says he wants to see more action.
“We’ve done pretty much everything we can,” Gibbons said. “We wanted to be at industry standard this year. There are other plants in this industry that are paying wages today under collective agreements and we wanted to get to that.”
Gibbons and the union presented a plan that would see workers paid the same as their counterparts in other plants within three years, but he says the company rejected the offer.
The workers are asking for a raise of approximately $1,600 per month between them.
“A dollar an hour doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is when you’re making $11 an hour,” Gibbons said.
The City of Kamloops stopped recycling collection services on Monday due to the strike.
Emterra could not be reached for comment.
