Union goes on offensive against OCI plant closures

The leader of Newfoundland and Labrador's largest fisheries union accused the provincial government Tuesday of being too soft on a company that has shut down two fish plants.

"What happened to no more giveaways?" Fish, Food and Allied Workers union president Earle McCurdy told reporters while accusing Premier Kathy Dunderdale's government of not being hard enough with Ocean Choice International, and of backing away from the policies of former premier Danny Williams.

St. John's-based OCI rocked the fishing industry earlier this month with the closures of plants in Marystown and Port Union.

Last week, OCI revealed a plan to expand year-round work at its plant in Fortune and on deepsea boats in return for the export as much as 80 per cent of its groundfish quota. [MORE: See OCI CEO Martin Sullivan's appearance on On Point with David Cochrane.] 

Government has said it will consider the proposal over the next few weeks, although McCurdy suggested he suspects government is already backing the company plan.

'Bought right into the sales pitch'

"So far it appears — based on the response to date; I hope it changes — that government has bought right into the company's sales pitch without there being any evidence of trying to negotiate anything better," McCurdy said.

Fisheries Minister Darin King. meanwhile, lashed back at McCurdy, calling him and the union too inflexible in the dispute.

"Playing games, spreading propaganda and not keeping the best interest of the people in mind is not the way to go about it," King told reporters.

"I think that this is exactly what the FFAW is doing, and I believe wholeheartedly that it is inappropriate, irresponsible, and not certainly in the best interests of the members of the union."

McCurdy said that OCI would within five years be able to export all of the fish it catches from quotas it acquired from the former Fishery Products International.

He said the provincial government needs to use those quotas as leverage to protect local jobs.

"We're on the brink of a major loss of control over public resources," he said.

OCI has said it is trying to cope with a rapidly changing marketplace, which now favours head-on, unprocessed fish.

In recent days, OCI has launched a public relations campaign, including advertisements that underscore that millions of dollars of value will remain untapped in the ocean if the company's proposal is rejected.

McCurdy sees the ads as a threat.

"What they're saying really is, we want all the money," he told CBC News in an earlier interview.