Still no pay, despite promise of help, for 122 non-unionized Muskrat Falls workers
Unionized Astaldi Canada workers have been paid, but a non-unionized worker on the Muskrat Falls site says that final paycheques still haven't arrived for he and 121 others in his position.
"We've just been thrown out to the proverbial wolves here with no recourse," said Ed Knox, who worked with the company as a quality manager on the hydroelectric project for six years.
"We have nothing right now. Nothing."
We've just been totally abandoned. - Ed Knox
Nalcor Energy issued a stop-work order to Astaldi, the megaproject's main contractor, in late October, after concerns the company would not be able to make payroll. Workers were then sent home.
After a meeting between Trades NL, which represents Astaldi's unionized workers, and Premier Dwight Ball, the company's unionized workers received their final paycheques and record of employment.
But Knox says the company's non-unionized workers — who range from people in technical support to middle management, he said — still have empty bank accounts.
"We've just been totally abandoned," he said.
That's despite Ball's assurances in the House of Assembly Thursday that he was working with Nalcor CEO Stan Marshall to ensure people got their pay.
"It seems like there's a double-standard being applied to the [non-union] persons. We have families as well," Knox said.
Status of ROEs still uncertain
The status of the non-unionized workers' record of employment is still murky, Knox said.
The workers were told by those who worked as payroll managers for the company that ROEs were sent to Service Canada last week, but there has been no official confirmation of that from the company itself or from Nalcor.
"We're applying for [employment insurance] based on that premise," he said.
"There's nobody that's in Astaldi who is helping us because all those that were responsible were laid off, or kicked off the site."
Without any EI, he said he has been without an income since the last paycheque he received, which was before the work stoppage began.
"I have a family, I have a wife, I have two kids, I have a child who has a disability as well," he said.
"It's a very sad situation. It's a very troubling situation for me and my family."
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