Right to strike top issue in Marine Atlantic labour dispute

ST. JOHN’S, (Dec. 2, 3003) — Binding arbitration will be the last resort if a final contract pitch can not be agreed on in St. John’s today between Marine Atlantic and the Canadian Marine Officers’ Union, the Chronicle-Herald newspaper is reporting.

A spokesperson for the union told the newspaper it will make its final contract proposal to Crown corporation Marine Atlantic — the Newfoundland-mainland ferry service — before trying to settle the long-standing labour dispute through arbitration in January.

The union, which has been without a contract since January 2000, also expressed objections over the Canada Industrial Relations Board’s decision last week to classify Marine Atlantic as an essential service, and effectively stripping the union’s right to strike. The issue has been a key item in the negotiations for the union, which represents about 130 engine room workers, deck officers and electricians.

While the union wasn’t surprised Marine Atlantic would be declared an essential service, it expected the board’s decision would leave room for some labour action. The board ruled that Marine Atlantic — which offers daily ferry service between Sydney and Port aux Basques and Argentia, Nfld. — is the only “accessible link available to a significant majority of the general travelling public, the trucking industry and its customers, as well as to the general public of Newfoundland, for whom there is no realistic alternative means of access.”

— with files from the Chronicle-Herald