Day 10: There was little progress as bargaining with the industry resumed. When talks recessed last week the industry told the USW bargaining committee that they would be bringing one of their maintenance experts to discuss the issue of contractors in refineries.
Instead of bringing their expert, the industry brought a confidentiality agreement and no new information.
After a discussion about the industry’s failure to bargain in good faith and their game playing regarding our legitimate requests for information the USW put forward a proposal to remove contractors and adequately staff facilities to ensure safe operations along with the rest of our agenda.
The industry said that they would need more time to assess our proposal and gather the data that we had requested last week.
The industry also continues to insist that they will not agree to language that restricts their ability to staff facilities as they see fit — regardless of the safety implications—and they will not agree to language that would limit their ‘flexibility’ by restricting their ability to contract out work.
The USW bargaining committee is available and ready to continue bargaining and we hope the industry will come to the table tomorrow with the information that we have requested and ready to address the issues that matter to USW members.
Letter from UK TUC to Leo Gerard of the USW. Click Here
