Press Release – Immediate – 2008-02-28
In light of the fact that there will be information meetings held by various Building Trades Unions in the near future regarding a proposed construction industry Project Labour Agreement we felt it was important that we provide some facts on this proposed Project Labour Agreement to clarify some misconceptions.
Q. Why would we want a Project Labour Agreement so soon after completing Province wide construction negotiations?
A. There are a number of reasons why a Project Labour Agreement is able to deal with issues related to a specific project that cannot always be accommodated under a Collective Agreement designed to cover the entire Province.
- Reduce Travel Time to the Project and Traffic Flow on Highway 63:
Workers currently spend six hours or more travelling each way from Edmonton to projects in the Fort McMurray area. This PLA would provide for air flights for most workers (other than local residents) who would be working on the project, greatly reducing both travel time to the project and traffic volumes on Highway 63. Fly-in Fly-out provisions are not in the current Provincial Collective Agreements.
- Make the Project More Attractive to Canadians:
The ability to fly in and out of the project on a regular basis opens up opportunities to work on this remotely located Project to Trades men and women from across Canada. Workers from Western Canada will be flown to the project to work a ten day cycle and then flown home for a four day rest period. Flights will also be available from specified airport hubs in Eastern Canada although a different work schedule will apply to them. The Provincial Collective Agreements only cover conditions for workers in Alberta and do not contain travel provisions for workers from out of the Province.
- Preferential Access to Project Work for Building Trades Unionized Contractors and Union Members:
All projects that are not covered by a Project Agreement are open for bidding by both Building Trade Contractors and those that do not have Collective Agreements with the Building Trades. This PLA provides for preferential bidding rights for Union Contractors on significant portions of the work on this Mega Project. This guarantees work opportunities on this project for Union members from Alberta and the rest of Canada in the Fort McMurray area for at least the next five years. This preferential access to work on these projects is not contained in the current Provincial Collective Agreements.
- Provides for Work Schedules More Appropriate to Remote Work Sites:
The standard Provincial Collective Agreements provide for only two work schedules; one that is based on five days per week at eight hours per day followed by two days off and another based on four days per week at ten hours per day followed by three days off. Neither of these provide for opportunities for workers who don’t live in Wood Buffalo to spend much time at home with friends and family. This is particularly true if they have to take ten or more hours out of that weekend to ride a bus back and forth. The schedules under this PLA provides for longer periods of rest, four days in the case of Western Canadian workers and seven days in the case of Eastern Canadian Workers, as well as built in scheduled overtime which has been attractive to Canadians on remote work sites.
Q. Does this Agreement reduce working conditions for construction workers?
A. This PLA picks up all of the wage rates and benefits exactly as negotiated in the Provincial Collective Agreements. The following example is for a Journeyman Union Pipefitter from Alberta working on the Project for a year, taking one two week vacation.
Work Schedule = 8 hours of straight time plus 2 hours of double time each day for ten days followed by four days of rest. All hours worked outside this schedule are paid at double time.
Earnings = $50.12* per hour including benefit contributions ($100.24 on double time hours) or $601.44 per day or $150,360 per year (with two weeks off and no additional overtime worked)
* this rate is effective May 4/08 and includes a recent increase to rates due to a Cost of Living Adjustment
Additional Benefits = Free flights to and from the project at the beginning and end of the ten day cycle (or free bus transportation for local workers). Other working conditions in the Provincial Collective Agreements that apply to remote work sites such as free camp accommodation will be provided under this Agreement as well.
Q. Would workers from Eastern Canada make less than this?
A. On a per hour basis they would make exactly the same rate but over the course of a year their schedule would provide slightly less income. Using the example above they would make $147,352 per year including benefits, but they would have the benefit of 10 weeks off per year including the normal two week shutdown at Christmas, but not including their regular one day off per week. And of course they are flown home every five weeks to enjoy their week off. We think that will be very attractive to Eastern Canadians.
Work with the various Building Trades affiliates on this project agreement was not designed to detract from the Collective Agreement, rather it was intended to provide enhancements such as air travel, all overtime outside the set schedule at double time, reduced travel time, more convenient travel to site, longer blocks of personal time to spend away from site, scheduled overtime, improved access to work opportunities for union members in other parts of Alberta and Canada, and guarantees of union work on the project. These were all aimed at assisting us in recruiting union members from across Canada to fill the worker requirements for this project. Recent comments in the press suggest that some union members may have misunderstood the intentions of the Parties to our Agreements in negotiating these improvements into a Project Agreement.
For information, call:
R. Neil Tidsbury
President
Construction Labour Relations – Alberta
(403) 250-7390
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