MEDIA RELEASE: Royal Greenland Delays Rebate Calculation; ASP Files Emergency Application to Labour Board
October 31, 2024
Yesterday afternoon, the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) filed an urgent application with the Labour Relations Board against one of their own members, Quin-Sea Fisheries, which is owned by Royal Greenland, an international crown corporation of Denmark that has a long track record of unethical business operations in Newfoundland and Labrador. ASP’s application stems from Royal Greenland’s refusal to provide sales data on 5-8oz sections of crab delivered to Boston, which is required to complete the agreed-upon third-party review of 2024 snow crab sales.
Royal Greenland has not provided the required sales data to third-party auditor, Deloitte, preventing them from completing the review as per the Master Collective Agreement (MCA) and Crab Schedule. This refusal has resulted in ASP companies being unable to provide settlement payments to harvesters by the October 31, 2024 deadline. FFAW-Unifor will not accept the report without including this important data.
“You know we have serious issues in the industry when an association is taking one of their own members to task for breaking an important agreement. Royal Greenland has time and time again shown our province that they are not interested in operating in good faith and in accordance with provincial labour regulations,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. “Our members will not accept any rebate calculations without this important data from Royal Greenland,” says Pretty.
An expedited Labour Relations Board hearing is being sought due to the urgency of the situation. FFAW-Unifor will provide updates to members as soon as available.