Open N.L. to outside lobster buyers: union

Newfoundland and Labrador's fisheries union is calling on the province to open the lobster fishery to out-of-province buyers.

The Fish Food and Allied Workers Union said its necessary to counter buyers in the province who aren't buying in a dispute over lobster prices.

The Union said it has been advised by George Joyce, Executive Director of the Seafood Producers of Newfoundland and Labrador (SPONL) that a number of companies met in Gander last week and made a decision to cease buying lobster.

"They're showing total disrespect for the legislation that the legislature put in place to deal with fishery collective bargaining and, quite frankly, if that's the case, I think they should be told that their closed shop is gone," said union president Earle McCurdy.

The Union met with a SPONL committee in Corner Brook on April 11th for the purpose of negotiating lobster prices, but SPONL did not respond to a price offer from the union, nor did it participate in a lobster price hearing conducted by the Standing Fish Price-Setting Panel, which has the responsibility to settle price disputes in the fishery.

The Union said it was the only party that appeared before the panel in the lobster price hearing on April 15, 2011. The panel accepted the union's proposal for a formula tying the raw material price to market prices in New England. The Panel's decision is binding on all buyers.

The formula established a price of $4.26 per pound for the week April 17-23, and $4.23 for the week from April 24-30 but the companies are claiming they can't afford the price set by the panel.

So far, the province is refusing to get involved in the dispute.

About six million pounds of lobster are harvested in Newfoundland and Labrador annually. It is the principal fishery for many small boat enterprises, particularly on the south, southwest and west coasts.