The recent decision by Northern Shrimp Co. in Jackson’s Arm to shut down their shrimp plant for the 2010 season has affected the community very badly. FFAW/CAW President Earle McCurdy said the Union has called for an immediate meeting with Fisheries and Aquaculture minister Clyde Jackman.
According to him MoU between the Provincial Government, the Union, and the Association of Seafood Producers calls for the development of a Worker Adjustment Program for people adversely affected by fisheries restructuring. He further said that nothing concrete has been related to the M.O.U. in the past three months and so there is an urgent need of a meeting of the sub-committee dealing with Worker Adjustment as soon as possible.
The decision to close the plant is insulting to people who have spent a lifetime working on the floor of a fish plant, said McCurdy. he also states that ASP’s proposal for restructuring in the processing sector called for a buyout for plant operators but nothing beyond the current inadequate program for plant workers who lose their jobs. He told that the employer in Jackson’s Arm needs to “level with their employees” as to future plans for the operation. The recent announcement of a 28 percent reduction in the northern shrimp quota raises serious question marks concerning the future of the plant and the jobs of the workers.
