Marystown trawlermen prepare for strike

Four trawlers working for an Ocean Choice International plant in southern Newfoundland are tied up in the wake of a strike involving deepsea fishermen.

About 59 per cent of trawlermen represented by the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union in Marystown voted to reject a company offer, insisting that the proposed wages are too low.

The FFAW had recommended that the approximately 90 trawlermen accept the package.

"It's really a money issue," FFAW president Earle McCurdy said Tuesday.

"The guys are out working in the roughest kind of conditions, and they're just not satisfied that the pay reflects the toughness of the job and what's expected of them."

McCurdy said OCI's offer amounts to an increase of about two per cent per year. He described Ocean Choice's proposal as "pretty minimal."

The trawlermen harvest a variety of species, particularly flounder.

OCI has not commented on the strike decision.

McCurdy said the workers will soon make decisions on things like picket lines.

Ocean Choice's plant workers ratified a two-year deal last spring.