Plant Workers Await Urgent Meeting with Government Amid Processing Crisis

ST. JOHN’S, NL –Plant workers represented by FFAW-Unifor have been waiting for over a month to secure a meeting with Minister Lisa Dempster to address the escalating crisis impacting crab processing workers across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Caught in the crossfire of Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) member companies’ efforts to limit interprovincial competition for inshore fish harvesters, plant workers are facing severe economic hardship due to reduced hours this season. While few inshore harvesters have succeeded in landing product outside the province, companies such as Ocean Choice International (OCI) and Quinlan’s have been exporting unprocessed snow crab by the truckload. This has resulted in many plant workers receiving significantly reduced hours compared to the previous seasons.

“Plant workers are being squeezed by corporate greed,” says Dwan Street, FFAW-Unifor President. “These companies are shipping product out of province while our workers are left with barely enough hours to survive. Many are now staring down reduced benefits or even losing eligibility entirely. This is unacceptable, and we need Minister Dempster take the time to meet with these members hear their concerns directly.”

“Outside buyers policy was created to increase competition and fairness in the inshore fishery and that’s simply not what has happened under the ASP cartel,” Street explains. “In reality, inshore harvesters don’t have any more market access than they had previously, but the companies are having a heyday avoiding minimum processing requirements. It’s abhorrent and hypocritical behaviour from these supposed Newfoundland and Labrador companies and it requires immediate intervention from Minister Dempster.”

“We’re not asking for handouts; we’re asking for fairness,” Street added. “Our plant workers deserve to process the fish caught in our waters, not watch it get trucked away while they struggle to make ends meet. The government must act now to protect these workers and their communities,” Street concludes.