Article content

SaskTel will not allow striking workers to return to work on Tuesday after Unifor promised to cause “huge inconvenience” by sending its members back on the job with little warning.

The heightened dispute came after a Monday of tension as hundreds of striking Unifor members blocked managers from entering SaskTel call centres in Regina and Saskatoon. SaskTel said it’s considering applying for an injunction to stop what it called “illegal labour disruption activities.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or SaskTel says striking workers can't return to work Tuesday Back to video

While Unifor said the action was a peaceful move designed to apply pressure, SaskTel called it “unacceptable” and reported that some of its managers had been threatened for coming to work.

Chris MacDonald, assistant to the national president of Unifor, announced the return-to-work plan as a tactic to throw off Crown employers relying on managers to fill in for workers who walked off the job last week.

“Tomorrow morning we’re all returning to work, and that will be a huge inconvenience for them because they’re not ready,” he told picketers at the call centre. “We’re going to work to rule and then we’re going to not let them know until the last minute when we’re walking out again.”