The PC Opposition is wading into a labour relations dispute involving Royal Greenland, which owns Quin-Sea Fisheries.
The FFAW this week revealed that the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) has filed an application against Quin-Sea, once of its own members.
ASP won’t comment on the matter as it’s before the Labour Relations Board.
But FFAW President Greg Pretty says the situation only confirms what harvesters have been saying for years about corporate concentration of the NL fishery.
FFAW President Greg Pretty
“How bad is it at all when one of these companies’ behaviour, Royal Greenland in particular, against harvesters and plant workers is so atrocious that the other crowd are taking them to the labour board?” says Pretty, adding it’s something he never thought he’d see, “but here we are.”
At issue, according to the union, is Royal Greenland’s refusal to provide sales receipts for crab delivered to Boston, a requirement needed to complete the agreed-upon third party review of 2024 snow crab sales, which has delayed payouts to harvesters.
The deadline to submit the data was Oct. 31.
Opposition Leader Tony Wakeham says Royal Greenland has a licence to process fish in the province, but it “does not own the resource.”
“The resource is owned by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and if this company cannot live up to the agreements that are in place to how we manage this resource, and how we do this, and the paperwork associated with it, and the need to come clean on providing that information, then yes, their licence should be suspended until such time as they provide that information.”
The FFAW says it’s seeking an “expedited” Labour Relations Board hearing due to the urgency of the situation.
