Labour dispute at Petro-Canada - The LRB will be called upon to rule on the oil company's bad faith

    MONTREAL, May 27 /CNW Telbec/ - The Communications, Energy and
Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP-FTQ), which represents the 260 employees
locked-out by Petro-Canada will today file a complaint with the Québec Labour
Relations Board (LRB) in order to denounce Petro-Canada's attitude in the
current dispute. "We ask the LRB to take a stand on the obvious bad faith of
the company", said Daniel Cloutier, CEP-FTQ National Representative.
    More specifically, the union denounces the fact that one of the
locked-out employees was contacted by Andrew Pelletier, spokesperson for
Petro-Canada, who attempted to persuade this employee to start a mutiny within
the union ranks. Indeed, Mr. Pelletier urged shop steward Christian Cardinal
to question the integrity of Local President Jacques Vanier. At the same time,
Mr. Pelletier made false and slanderous comments about Mr. Vanier and
Mr. Cloutier, CEP-FTQ National Representative.
    "Such actions are not only unacceptable but also illegal. Petro-Canada is
attempting to swerve the course of bargaining by bypassing duly mandated and
legally recognized union representatives. This extremely rich company which
has once again registered a record income of over one billion dollars for the
first quarter of this year believes that it is above the law. We will remind
it that it is not", stated CEP-FTQ National Representative Daniel Cloutier.
Besides the complaint lodged with the LRB, CEP also intends to file a
defamation suit against the Petro-Canada spokesperson within the next few
days.
    A copy of the complaint filed by CEP-FTQ with the LRB is available upon
request.
    It should be recalled that the 260 employees of the East Montreal
Petro-Canada refinery have been locked-out since November 17, 2007. The
company is attempting to move back on many of the issues covered by the
collective agreement, such as the duration of the contract, retroactive pay
and workplace health and safety. Petro-Canada made $1.08 billion of profits
during the first quarter of 2008.

For further information: Daniel Cloutier, CEP National Representative,
[phone]