PV staff
Workers at the Autoport vehicle processing and transshipment hub in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia went on strike at midnight on February 27. Right away, they have had to prepare to resist the company’s attempt to bust the strike through the use of scabs it has been gathering, including some from out of province.
Autoport is one of North America’s largest vehicle processing and transshipment hub, handling close to 185,000 vehicles annually.
The 239 workers, who are represented by Unifor Local 100, have been negotiating since September for a deal that includes decent wage increases. They turned down the employer’s offer of an 8-percent increase over 3 years. “People just want a fair reasonable wage to be able to provide for their families,” said Local 100 President Cory Will.
The union warns that CN-owned Autoport is trying to bust the strike rather than negotiate a deal.
“The planned use of scabs shows Autoport was not serious about reaching a fair agreement. The use of scab labour is proven to lengthen disputes and the company’s actions have only increased the difficulty of obtaining a deal,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “This highlights the need for the federal government to move quickly to pass anti-scab legislation to prevent companies, like Autoport, from trying to bully workers instead of negotiating a fair contract.”
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