Potential N.L. ferry strike sparks concern, union appeals ‘essential service’ label

The Marine Atlantic ferry between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland could be disrupted by a strike.

The Marine Atlantic ferry service between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland was still running out of North Sydney, N.S., on Friday, but a potential strike has people feeling uneasy on both sides of the Cabot Strait.

“When it comes to labour disputes, nobody wants them,” said Northside area Coun. Gordon MacDonald.

Recently, the union representing about 700 ferry workers asked the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to reconsider a 2004 decision that determined the ferry service is essential to the health and safety of people in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Unifor wouldn’t comment further on Friday. In a statement to CTV Atlantic, Marine Atlantic said the union is asking the board to reduce crossings to three per week – in each direction – on the Port aux Basques, N.L., route, and suspend the Argentia, N.L., service, in the event of a labour dispute.

“It is our economic security, it is our highway, it is our lifeline,” said Atlantic Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Rhonda Tulk-Lane.

Not only does she say they consider the ferry an essential service, they see it as part of the Trans-Canada Highway when it comes to the delivery of things like food and medical supplies to Newfoundland.

“I’ll give you an example - I’m on the highway right now, I’m driving from Moncton to Halifax,” Tulk-Lane said on Friday afternoon. “I can’t imagine coming to the border and for someone to say to me, ‘There’s a strike right now, you can no longer go through.’”

On the North Sydney side of the water, while the impact is not as big as it is in Newfoundland, MacDonald said having ferry traffic come through regularly is something people count on.

“They go up to the North Sydney Mall, or they find themselves something to eat at a food place,” MacDonald said of the commercial and passenger traffic. “They’ll park their rigs in one of the areas close by so it’s an economic impact to have Marine Atlantic here in this area.”

Marine Atlantic said there can be no strike or lockout until a decision has been reached by the CIRB.

It’s a ruling the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce is eagerly awaiting.

“Workers, of course, are the heartbeat of employers – who we represent - so we really want them to get to the table and figure this out, but we cannot put those who live on an island at risk while they work out that deal,” Tulk-Lane said.

Further updates – on the ‘essential service’ designation, and the potential strike - are expected later this month.

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