The FFAW does not foresee any impact to bargaining with the Association of Seafood Producers now that Quin-Sea Fisheries has pulled its membership from the organization.
The company announced its departure from ASP yesterday, citing a “strained relationship” and a Labour Relations complaint launched against them by the asociation, which was dropped last month, as deciding factors.
The FFAW originally made the Labour Relations complaint public last fall.
Union president Dwan Street says Quin-Sea’s decision to break off from ASP is “not surprising.”
Photo via Facebook
She says the union had had its own problems with Quin-Sea whose parent company is Royal Greenland—a Crown corporation in Denmark.
Street alleges that last year the company was not complying with the negotiation process for crab price settlement, and their agreement on sea cucumber. “So it has been a bit of a battle. And another question… is how our local companies compete with a Crown corporation.”
That said, Street doesn’t think Quin-Sea leaving ASP will have any impact on negotiations for the upcoming fishing season, because they negotiate with the majority buyer, and that doesn’t change with Quin-Sea withdrawing.
Both Quin-Sea and the Association of Seafood Producers have declined further comment at this time.
