In response to allegations of worker mistreatment by management at the Royal Greenland fish plant in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) has been rallying for fair treatment of the local plant workers.
“It’s Hell afloat in St. Anthony at the Royal Greenland plant,” said FFAW President Greg Pretty. “We went through a rough time with them two years ago with 15 grievances; had most of them heard; won most of them; established a couple of points that, you know, you’re living under Canadian labour law, particularly Newfoundland labour law. So, we were happy with that. We used a dispute mechanism that’s in the collective agreement, and we were successful. The following year, the person who caused all the grief in the first place — the manager Stedman Letto — for whatever reason, didn’t come back to work.”
In 2022, with Letto out of the picture, the FFAW claimed not a single grievance was filed at the St. Anthony plant throughout the year and productivity was up. By July of 2023, Letto was back in his management position and the union claimed the uptick in reported grievances resumed.
The FFAW recently organized a community barbecue to discuss what was happening in the fish plant. According to Pretty, the union’s rally has drawn the attention of St. Anthony’s town council and provincial politicians. The one group he claimed isn’t taking notice of their rally is Royal Greenland itself.
“I have kept the Minister of Fisheries and the Minister of Labour in the loop on this,” said Pretty. “We don’t have a response from Royal Greenland. They’re happy enough to putt along the way they’re going and let their lawyers take care of it. But we need an intervention here, because this workforce is not the youngest workforce we have in the fishery, and this undo pressure is causing people to quit their employment.”
The FFAW represents around 4,000 plant workers from plants around Newfoundland and Labrador. Of all these plants, Pretty claimed Royal Greenland’s plant stands out regarding grievances raised.
Pretty said Royal Greenland, which is owned by the government of Greenland, needs to fall in line with Canadian and N.L. labour laws. He also called into question the viability of foreign interests being granted processing licenses in the province.
“You can’t act this poorly in this province unless you have a provincial license to do so,” said Pretty. “So, we want to also examine the processing license that these cats get and that these cats hold over people’s heads and try to get a bit of work done. It’s absolutely ridiculous and it’s counterproductive to good work in the plants. It’s terrible and it has to stop.”
Similarly to 2021, the FFAW intends to take their grievances with Royal Greenland to arbitration.
Royal Greenland A/S could not be reached for comment.
