FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hay River, Northwest Territories, Monday (November 1, 2021)
Negotiations between the Union and Offshore Recruiting Services Inc. (ORSI) have reached impasse and Conciliation to try and resolve this impasse is taking place on Wednesday, November 3.
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)/Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE) members working for ORSI deliver key services along the Mackenzie River supply chain. These are the same employees working under the former GNWT NTCL contract. Their new Employer is now based in Newfoundland and Labrador and is a contractor of the Government of Northwest Territories (GNWT).
Currently, ORSI, refuses to pay out fair wages to its Employees in times of high inflation and has made no attempts at asking the GNWT for more money to help settle a fair contract and avoid labour disruption to the Mackenzie River supply chain. ORSI Employees rely on these much-needed increases in the face of the ongoing high cost of living in the North.
“I call on the GNWT to intervene in this situation. Workers and northern communities are our priority,” says PSAC North Regional Executive Vice President Lorraine Rousseau. “Members deserve a fair deal. As a contractor, ORSI is disconnected from the reality of living in the North.”
If a fair deal is not reached in Conciliation on November 3rd, the Employer is giving no option except for the Union to have to consider a strike/job action. This will not only affect the ORSI employees, but also the communities relying on key services these union members provide.
For media inquiries, contact:
Yusur Al-Bahrani
Regional Political Communications Officer
Office: 867-669-0991
E-mail: Al-BahY@psac-afpc.com