Unionized Halifax Shipyard workers to opinion on strike mandate

Unionized employees of a Halifax Shipyard are voting Sunday afternoon on either to give their negotiating group a strike mandate. 

The stream common agreement between Unifor Marine Workers Local 1 and a Halifax Shipyard expires during a finish of a month. About 800 of a union’s members, trimming from electricians to steel fabricators, work during a shipyard. 

Irving employees are in a center of constructing Arctic and offshore unit vessels. A vast centre territory of a initial one, HMCS Harry DeWolf, is now manifest outward a large open gymnasium on a Halifax waterfront. 

The Halifax Shipyard building is 4 football fields in length and 48 metres high. (Submitted by Irving Shipbuilding Inc.)

Formal negotiate started a month ago and a dual sides contend they’ve spent 4 days during a list so far. 

Sean Lewis, Irving Shipbuilding’s executive of communications, pronounced a dual sides are still operative on scheduling talks with a conciliator. The range allocated one after a company’s Nov. 23 request, he said. 

Break time, ill leave, seniority discussed

The kinship has invited a members to an off-site assembly this afternoon to plead a negotiate process. 

On Friday, Natalie Clancy, who works with Unifor, pronounced a kinship would not be releasing any statements about a assembly to a media. 

Based on prior statements by a employer, and a response by a union, it appears a quarrelsome issues embody work breaks, seniority and paid ill time. 

Irvings says it offering 2 proposals

In a open matter on Nov. 23, a Halifax Shipyard pronounced it had offering a kinship dual proposals. 

“We are unhappy that we were incompetent to pierce negotiate brazen by mutual discussions. We are carefree that an outward celebration can support in restarting negotiations, as we trust a negotiated agreement is a best choice for a Halifax Shipyard and a shipbuilders,” it said. 

In a after statement, Irving pronounced it wants to mix a morning mangle with a lunch period, profitable employees for a additional 10 mins during lunch. 

Unifor’s negotiate group told employees that a company’s initial offer was “33 pages of vital concessions” from a union, including removing absolved of seniority, mangle durations and “most reserve provisions.”

Technicians work on a carcass during Halifax Shipyard in 2013. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

The union’s matter pronounced it was seeking for 4 ill days a year “for variable illness.

“Their proposals do not simulate softened or modernized operative conditions, as a private of breaks and reserve supplies are not improvements,” it said. 

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In 2010, Irving won a agreement to build between 6 and 8 of a Arctic offshore unit vessels for $2.3 billion and 15 warships for $26 billion.

There have been delays with construction and Irving is now formulation to build 5 or 6 unit vessels. The shipyard is ostensible to finish a first ship in 2018. The final one is approaching to be finish in 2022. 

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-shipyard-unifor-local-1-contract-negotiations-1.4430271?cmp=rss