Newfoundland Minister of Natural Resources Siobhan Coady is encouraging Trades NL and DF Barnes to work out their differences over a deal for drill rig work that is being done at the Bull Arm fabrication site.
The building trades group, an umbrella labour organization which represents 16 unions in the province, has condemned DF Barnes for using a wall-to-wall agreement with Local 585 of the Atlantic Canada Regional Council of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Workers that essentially cuts out their workers.
Trades NL, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, has also called on the province to publicly disclose details of the lease it has signed with DF Barnes for the Bull Arm site.
The trades and company have had discussions over the past several weeks, but as of press time there was no resolution.
Coady, who is government house leader, said in a statement prepared for the Daily Commercial News that she is pleased DF Barnes has signed a lease agreement with Crown corporation Nalcor Energy to bring the Transocean Barents ultra-deepwater, semi-submersible drill rig to the Bull Arm site for upgrade work.
“The Bull Arm site is leased at different times to different contractors for different scopes of work. We are pleased that DF Barnes has been successful in securing a contract to carry out service on an offshore drill rig and that they are undertaking the work at Bull Arm.
“This is the second rig contract DF Barnes has brought to Bull Arm in the last year. We understand they are employing union members from the local area and that there will be up to 30 people employed with this project.”
Trades NL does not support this labour model,
— Bob Fiander
Trades NL
Coady addressed the dispute between Trades NL and DF Barnes, stating that she is hopeful the two can resolve their differences.
“With regard to the dispute between Trades NL and DF Barnes, we met with them last month and encouraged them to work on a resolution. A meeting was held and we understand it went well.
“As a government, we are committed to maximizing benefits to the people of the province from the development of our natural resources. We will continue to support the development of our supply and service industry as we said we would in Advance 2030,” a plan for growth in the province’s oil and gas industry.
Bull Arm is Atlantic Canada’s largest industrial fabrication site and spans more than 6,300 acres. The maintenance work has begun and is expected to continue into spring.
Nalcor Energy, which owns the Bull Arm site, announced in October that it had signed an agreement with DF Barnes to do the work, setting off immediate backlash from Trades NL which helped build the Bull Arm site.
The building trades allege that the deal is an attempt to break them. About 30 tradespeople staged a silent protest in the gallery of the legislature in St. John’s.
“This site has had many projects completed on it over the years, using the 16 building trades unions, as required,” Trades NL president John Leonard said in an earlier statement. “Now, government has signed a lease with DF Barnes for the site, with no public consultation, no engagement with our membership, and no disclosure of the details. This site belongs to the people of the province, and we have a right to know the details surrounding this agreement.”
The building trades statement maintained that the wall-to-wall agreement with Local 585 cuts out the trades unions from getting their work under a collective agreement with their own union.
“This is the second time in the past year that this company has used a wall-to-wall labour agreement with a project at Bull Arm, and it is nothing short of an attempt to break the building trades unions,” said Trades NL vice president Bob Fiander. “Without making the Local 585 agreement public, we understand that the wages and benefits are significantly reduced from collective agreements we have fought long and hard for, for many years.
“Trades NL does not support this labour model, and will pursue whatever means necessary to ensure building trades unions continue to gain work opportunities at Bull Arm.”
The province is experiencing a lull in construction, leaving many skilled trades out of work or having to leave the province. Trades NL maintains workers are frustrated because projects are being constructed out of the country or by alternate means.
As a result, the trades launched a campaign called, “NL First. Our Resources. Our Benefits,” to ensure residents of Newfoundland and Labrador receive first consideration to work on projects in the province.
Statements issued to local media by DF Barnes note that the work at Bull Arm is marine maintenance work, not construction, and that the project is being done by workers from the province.
Officials from the building trades say they have met with representatives of DF Barnes and are working to see if they can resolve the situation. However, as of press time there were no developments to announce. Meantime, both the trades and DF Barnes have agreed not to say anything more publicly while they’re in talks.
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