The Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW), which represents fishing and processing workers in the Canadian province of Newfoundland, is accusing Royal Greenland of operating in bad faith in the province.
In a release from the FFAW, the union accused Royal Greenland of unethical business practices and is demanding a meeting with Newfoundland Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne and Newfoundland Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Labor Lisa Dempster. The FFAW said it wants provincial sanctions against Royal Greenland Seafood – which purchased Newfoundland-based Quin-Sea in 2016. Under Quin-Sea, Royal Greenland operates Conche Seafoods and has a joint venture with Clearwater Seafoods for a plant in St. Anthony.
“Since first being allowed to operate in this province, Royal Greenland has shown time and time again that they are not interested in ethical business practices,” FFAW Secretary-Treasurer Jason Spingle said in a release. “A company cannot be allowed to blatantly and repeatedly disregard labor standards and be permitted to keep their processing license. There must be consequences.”
According to the FFAW, Royal Greenland has refused to purchase northern cod from harvesters, falsified dates on lobster receipts to pay harvesters less than the negotiated minimum price, and “tried to coerce sea cucumber harvesters into signing an agreement that would circumvent the agreed-upon water loss in the agreed upon 2024 sea cucumber schedule.”
FFAW also said that the management of the company’s St. Anthony plant has engaged in egregious behavior, “for which the company refuses to take responsibility to ensure processing employees have a safe and healthy workplace.”
“A fish-processing license is a privilege, not a right, and there must be repercussions for those who refuse to utilize their license to the benefit of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador,” Spingle said.
The push from the FFAW comes soon after both Byrne and Dempster took on their roles. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey announced changes to his cabinet on 19 July, putting Byrne and Dempster in their new roles.
“We have two new ministers in these portfolios, and we hope that action will be taken to ensure that our coastal communities and the tens of thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who rely on a prosperous fishery will be treated with dignity and respect,” Spingle said. “The only people who are benefiting from Royal Greenland’s operations in Newfoundland and Labrador are their shareholders and the Government of Denmark.”
Quin-Sea Fisheries told SeafoodSource that the company has no comment on the FFAW’s accusations.
“As a matter of principle, Quin-Sea Fisheries does not comment publicly on grievances before a final resolution has occurred,” the company said. “This is out of respect to individuals and/or entities involved.”
The company added that it will cooperate fully with any grievance process taken by Newfoundland.
“This is true for grievances filed by the representative for seafood producers or by the representative for harvesters and plant workers,” Quin-Sea Fisheries said.
