IUOE News February 2015
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Delays could provide<br />
breathing room for<br />
training and<br />
preparation<br />
Business Manager<br />
Brian Cochrane,<br />
Business Manager<br />
For most of us, the thought of seeing the price of oil below $50<br />
per barrel or gas at under a $1 per litre ever again in our lifetime<br />
seemed pretty farfetched. While it is a big benefit for us<br />
as consumers, unfortunately it has certainly changed the timelines<br />
for many of the large scale projects in BC. Many of the<br />
big oil and gas giants are quickly trying to shut down planned<br />
development and are throwing the switches off to preserve<br />
cash flow.<br />
This will no doubt continue to cause some delay in the final<br />
investment decisions for the Proposed LNG work.<br />
Depending on which analyst you read, we could be in for a<br />
12 - 18 month correction before things stabilize again. On the<br />
positive side, this will soften some of the critical labour shortage<br />
issues that we were facing for some trades, and will provide<br />
a little breathing room for training<br />
and to prepare for the future demand.<br />
How long it takes is still unclear, there<br />
has been significant investment in LNG,<br />
and this opportunity will eventually<br />
come on stream, however the green light<br />
is probably a few months away. We will<br />
continue to stay on top of these developments closely and<br />
report out details in future OE <strong>News</strong>, as I have been appointed<br />
to the Premier’s LNG Advisory Council.<br />
Site C<br />
On December 16th BC Hydro announced the approval of the<br />
Site C Dam project, which is scheduled to begin construction<br />
in the summer of this year. While there will no doubt be some<br />
roadblocks along the way, this project will create 10,000<br />
person-years of direct employment during construction, and<br />
approximately 33,000 total person-years of employment<br />
through all stages of development.<br />
This Project was not covered under the Allied Hydro<br />
Council Agreement which would ensure that it would be a<br />
Building Trades Project, so we have been meeting with BC<br />
Hydro, and Government officials to explain the benefits of<br />
extending the Agreement to cover the entire scope of the job.<br />
We are continuing to meet with all senior leaders involved to<br />
explain the benefits that a Project Labour Agreement (PLA)<br />
would provide to one of the largest public projects we will see<br />
in our lifetime.<br />
The most recent Project Labour Agreement for large Hydro<br />
work is the John Hart Dam upgrade in Campbell River. This<br />
upgrade is worth over one billion dollars, and the consortium<br />
realized the benefits of a Project Labour Agreement, employing<br />
skilled Operating Engineers. It would only make sense for<br />
Hydro to see the value in a PLA for a project with 8 times the<br />
cost!<br />
Pipeline Campaign<br />
At a recent meeting with the major OE Pipeline Locals across<br />
the Country it was agreed that we must work more aggressively<br />
and collectively to support the industry in the eyes of<br />
the public. Pipelines are the safest,<br />
most reliable and cost effective way<br />
to move our natural resources and<br />
the industry has been under intense<br />
scrutiny over the last several years.<br />
It was decided that it is time that we<br />
increase the volume on behalf of<br />
our membership and the sector.<br />
Some of the environmentalists don’t seem to understand<br />
that moving product by rail or truck creates both more risk<br />
and cost. However, compared to pipelines there is little regulation<br />
or public debate on this method of transport and it will<br />
become a default position if pipelines aren’t approved.<br />
There will be more on this in the months ahead as we<br />
develop a plan to get the message out.<br />
Some of the environmentalists<br />
don’t seem to understand that<br />
moving product by rail or truck<br />
creates both more risk and cost.<br />
Federal Election<br />
<strong>2015</strong> is a Federal Election Year, and we have been meeting<br />
with all parties to make sure that the interests of Operating<br />
Engineers are heard. The new Federal Government Apprentice<br />
Loan was announced in January, and will allow Apprentices<br />
registered in Red Seal Trades the opportunity to apply for<br />
loans up to $4,000 per year. This is long overdue, giving<br />
apprentices additional support to complete their trades<br />
training.<br />
continued on next page<br />
<strong>News</strong> March <strong>2015</strong> 1
Change language