IUOE News Winter 2013

2013 has set the stage
for large projects in
the coming year.
Mike Spiruda,
Member Representative
As I reflect on the past year, Local 115 has battled on many
fronts in order to secure a better future for our membership
and Canadians alike.
2013 began in a Supreme Court of Canada clash as local
115 challenged the Federal Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW)
program and HD Mining, who were on the verge of bringing
in over 200 Chinese workers to fill job vacancies that Canadians
had applied for and were fully capable of handling in
Tumbler Ridge B.C.
By Spring, the Federal Government had
fast-tracked changes to the TFW program,
such as: the elimination of the provision
which allowed employers to pay TFW’s 15
per cent less that the going rate; requiring employers to prove
that they have made every effort to fill jobs with Canadians
before applying for a Labour Market Opinion and TFW
employment permit; language restrictions that will only allow
English and French to be formal job requirements; and the
employer must now pay a fee of $275 for each TFW permit.
This dispute gathered notable media attention right across
the country and we have clearly exposed the flaws in the
system, and some employers are starting to recruit more
Canadians from eastern provinces.
We entered into Mainline Pipeline negotiations with the
Pipeline Contractors Association of Canada (PLCAC) back in
January. All went relatively well, and we secured a three per
cent increase in each year for the five year contract duration.
However, we hit a snag in April as the U.A., Teamsters and
“The northeast region and
province as a whole have a
very favourable future”
District Five
Labourers had previously signed off on replacing double time
in Western Canada to be paid after working 12 hours per day,
instead of leaving it at double time after 10 hours.
Needless to say, we disagreed. We stood our ground and
took the matter to arbitration on October 16. Unfortunately,
arbitrator Vince Ready ruled in favour of the PLCAC.
The final round of public hearings regarding the $8 billion
Site C Hydro Dam begin on December 9 and should wrap up
on January 23, 2014 in Fort St John. This was after a federal
review panel determined in mid-November that BC Hydro’s
Environmental Impact Statement was good enough for the
project to enter this next phase. The Joint Review Panel will
render their decision after they have analyzed that
information.
The National Energy Board Joint Review Panel will also
release their findings into Enbridge’s $6.5 billion Northern
Gateway Pipeline project this month. It will be interesting to
see their conclusion, along with what could be numerous
conditions attached.
All of the proposed Liquefied Natural
Gas (LNG) projects remain a priority for
the Provincial Government. We still need
a firm commitment from the energy
producers, something B.C.’s leaders seem to be struggling to
get, before we can start planning around what these massive
projects will bring to our members and the province. Still,
overall the northeast region and Province as a whole have a
very favourable future due to confirmed resource projects in
Oil and Gas, Pipelines, LNG, Hydro, Mining, and others.
In case you are not aware, the Dawson Creek membership
meetings have moved their location to the George Dawson
Inn, and take place the second Tuesday of even-numbered
months at 7:30pm.
In closing I would like to say thank you to all Job Stewards—your
work is greatly appreciated! I wish everyone a
healthy and prosperous 2014, along with a couple of firm
megaproject announcements.
Enjoy a safe and festive holiday season.
Brother Travis Ofukany working on the Pritchard Highway 1 project.
Brothers from the recent Black Creek meeting.
News December 2013 21