Nearly 1,000 employees at Casino Woodbine have been locked out by their employer, days after voting to reject its latest contract offer. The workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada were locked out as of 12:01 a.m. on Monday.

The lockout comes after members of the union voted to reject an offer from Woodbine Entertainment Group just last week.

Theo Lagakos, who is the local president for PSAC DCL 533 Casino Woodbine, told CP24 that the dispute with the employer largely stems from concerns over part-time workers’ rights.

“We have 50 per cent of the workforce over here that’s part time and for the longest time the workers have wanted to have at least three days, three shifts per week, in order to maintain their standard of living and the employer is not budging,” he said.