Workers at the casino in Brantford are asking gamers not to enter the building in solidarity.
This comes after 1500 employees from three casinos in Ontario were locked out of their jobs.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation walked away from the bargaining table hours before the midnight deadline, according to Unifor, the union representing over 600 employees.
Staff at the Brantford Casino has been outside picketing since 8:30 Friday night.
They have been without a contract since May 31st and Unifor says they have been at the bargaining table wanting to ensure the pension plan is part of the talks.
“The government is taking the position that they will not allow our pension to be in the collective agreement going forward. What this means upon sale we would have no right to any entitlement to a pension plan other than what the new owner would dictate to us,” says Jim Woods, National Representative of Unifor.
If and when the Brantford site is sold, the union and workers are concerned they will have to take whatever the new owner gives them.
“OLG has informed all unions during bargaining, including Unifor, that the future service providers of our gaming sites will be required to offer all transferring employees a registered pension plan. OLG has been clear that current employees will remain in the Public Service Pension Plan until they transfer to a future service provider,” stated a representative from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
