They may be members of the Ironworkers Local 764, but the men maintaining an information line at the site of the new long-term care build in Corner Brook say they are there on their own because they want work.
On Thursday the men gathered again, their fourth day at the site. They’re upset that the company doing the steel work on the build have brought in workers from outside the province.
They say P.E.I.-based MacDougall Steel Erectors Inc. has about seven workers on the site with more expected.
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Bay of Islands ironworker disappointed he can't get work on long-term care build in Corner Brook
Many of the men didn’t mind talking about what’s happening, but didn’t want to give their names.
Todd Murphy has been there since Monday.
The Summerside man has been out of work since December and said some of the others for much longer. Many will soon see their employment insurance run out.
If the work was there the men said half of them wouldn’t be on the line.
Others were looking at the current job and the upcoming hospital build as the ones that could take them to retirement. Now they’re worried the same thing will happen when the hospital starts.
Murphy said the government has put a lot of money into the building trades to train young people and he thinks that’s been a waste of money.
Murphy said the construction season is a short one and that means only a short time to get work.
He’s also upset his tax dollars are being spent on the project, yet there is no local benefit.
“Why should my tax dollars be spent out to people in P.E.I. to come here and work on my tax dollars and I’m here next door and could go to work,” said Murphy.
He and the other men say if they were working the money they make stay in the local economy.
Francis Simms, a union business agent, has been at the site since the information line went up.
He said the workers have picked up support from other tradespeople with sheet metal workers, operating engineers, labourers and non-union tradespeople spending time on the line.
“This is not a union information line, this in an information line pertaining to the hiring of an out of province contractor and that contractor bringing in what they consider skilled tradespeople and consequently the local tradespeople can’t get a job.”
He said it’s an issue that could extend to more tradespeople and not be exclusive to the ironworkers.
Since the line went up Eddie Joyce, the MHA for Humber-Bay of Islands, where many of the men are from, has been the only politician to drop by.
He said it’s time for the government and the contractors to get the issue sorted out.
One notable difference at the site on Thursday was the location of the line. The men have moved back to just outside the entrance of the site.
Earlier in afternoon the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, which has been monitoring the information line, was called when the group slowed a truck carrying decking into the site.
Six officers were at the site at mid-afternoon and an officer on the scene confirmed the force would be maintaining more of a presence there.
