Thirty-four workers at the Richardson oat mill just north of Martensville are on the picket line.
Richardson locked out members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1400 Wednesday night after the union issued a strike notice.
A spokesperson from Winnipeg said the company made a final offer for the same terms and conditions under the current agreement, plus a wage increase. The union said it’s looking for a guaranteed increase each year of the contract.
“We’re here. We want to go back to work. We want to get to the bargaining table. We’re just waiting on Richardson to kind of clue into that. We made it pretty well known that we’re willing to negotiate,” said union member Mark Haviland.
The facility has been owned by Richardson and workers have been operating under the existing collective agreement since May 2013. The plant is being operated by company managers during the lockout.
No talks have been scheduled since the lockout notice was issued.
Martensville is located 20 kilometres north of Saskatoon.
