Rogers Sugar strike have reached a standstill due to the company’s insistence on implementing round-the-clock operations.

Rogers Sugar Inc. has announced a temporary halt in negotiations following the rejection of its latest offer by the union representing striking workers at the Vancouver refinery. The workers, who have been on strike since September 28, are protesting various issues, including concerns about wages, benefits, and the company’s insistence on expanding refinery operations to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Adrian Soldera, the president of Private and Public Workers of Canada Local 8, cited the breakdown in negotiations, specifically highlighting Rogers’ push for continuous refinery operations and mandatory 12-hour shifts for workers.

“They’ve given us different scheduling options but the issue from our membership is we have to give up our weekend time — which is family time — to come into work whereas before that wasn’t an option,” he said.

This fall, intermittent shortages of sugar have been experienced in Western Canada due to the ongoing strike.

The company assures that there is currently a sufficient supply of white sugar in the market, and production of brown sugar at the Vancouver facility has been resumed.

Operating the Vancouver refinery at diminished capacity, Rogers Sugar indicates that it possesses an ample supply of raw sugar on-site, allowing this reduced operation to persist until May 2024.

According to Soldera, the union bargaining committee is convening to develop a counterproposal.

“We want to get back to work but there are some things our workers are pretty set against from the company side,” he said.