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Employees at a large work camp serving Imperial Oil’s Kearl oil sands mine are difficult the wholesale dismissal of the positioning’s workers after refusing to take a pay reduce.
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The union representing as much as 400 employees on the Wapasu Creek Lodge north of Fort McMurray mentioned they had been notified on April 13 that June 8 could be the final day of labor for just about the entire camp’s workers, after their contractor Civeo turned down their demand that they take a $7. -hourly wage reduce.
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Civeo advised them the corporate would outsource the work if the workers didn’t settle for the rollback, the union says.
A criticism has been filed with the Alberta Labor Relations Board alleging unfair labor practices by an organization that enjoys the fruits of a massively worthwhile oil and gasoline business, mentioned Chris O’Halloran, govt director of the United Meals and Business Employees Native 401 , mentioned.
“They’re asking for concessions when (the oil and gasoline sector) is making document earnings – we’re not going to take a $7 rollback when inflation is at six per cent,” O’Halloran mentioned.
Greater than 90 p.c of employees voted final November to reject Civeo’s ultimatum, the union says.
These issued pink slips embody kitchen, cleansing and housekeeping workers, whose hourly wages vary from the low $20s to low $30s, he mentioned.
Some, he mentioned, have labored on the 5,174-room camp since its inception 16 years in the past “and have given their time and vitality to this firm, and so they’ve thrown all of it out.”
They arrive from throughout the province and nation, with many from different provinces now everlasting residents of Alberta, he mentioned.
Angela Fiddler, one of many indigenous Civeo workers – a kind of who will lose her job in June – mentioned the corporate’s actions break agreements with First Nations folks and undermine reconciliation with them.
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“Reality and Reconciliation focuses on the entry of jobs and long-term, sustainable advantages of financial improvement initiatives like Wapasu,” Fiddler mentioned whereas attending a pro-labor rally in downtown Calgary on Friday.
“On behalf of the indigenous employees at Wapasu and the non-indigenous folks, we demand justice. We demand reality and reconciliation. And these works are rightfully ours.”
O’Halloran mentioned Civeo had undermined the union’s place by including one other 12 months to the earlier two-year contract that will have expired on December 31.
Nonetheless, there have been no wage will increase within the last 12 months of that contract, he mentioned.
“We have advised them we’re prepared to barter, however we consider they’ve had it in thoughts for a few years,” O’Halloran mentioned.
“Often that is executed by means of negotiation and settlements have been made. This is able to be the suitable place to cope with it.”
As a result of the Wapasu camp homes Imperial Oil employees, the oil patch large should intervene, O’Halloran mentioned.
Changing the prevailing employees, he mentioned, would severely disrupt the operation of the camp, which homes workers at Imperial Oil’s Kearl Lake mine about 10 kilometers away.
As for the labor relations board, the timing of its ruling would usually prolong past the June 8 layoff date, he mentioned, however the union had requested for a ruling earlier than then.
Civeo and Imperial Oil didn’t instantly return requests for remark.
— With recordsdata from Stephanie Babych
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn
