NEWS RELEASE September 20, 2002
Shipyard General Workers' Federation calls on BC government to drop
foreign bids from $175 million tender to refit and construct BC Ferries'
ships as September 20 deadline reached, saying BC jobs will be lost if
forced into unfair competition, with subsidized Chinese shipyards paying
workers as little as $76 Cdn a month
The Shipyard General Workers' Federation is calling on the BC government
to drop foreign bids from a $175 million tender to refit and construct
BC Ferries' ships, saying it is an unfair competition when subsidized
Chinese shipyards are paying workers as little as $76 Cdn a month. The
deadline for bids on the first of five refits and construction of a new
ship is today.
"On a level playing field, BC shipyards and workers can compete
with anyone," says George MacPherson, president of the Shipyard General
Workers' Federation. "But it is impossible to compete with government-subsidized
foreign shipyards like those in China, where workers are paid as little
as $76 Cdn a month and have few labour rights or health and safety rules."
MacPherson says a poll by the Federation demonstrates that British Columbians
agree. The Pollara poll of 500 respondents released Monday found that
70% believe that the government should make sure that BC shipyard bids
are competing on an even playing field against foreign shipyards that
are subsidized by their governments, pay workers lower wages and have
fewer safety standards.
The poll also found that 90% of those surveyed said it was either very
important [58%] or important [32%] for the provincial government to buy
local BC goods and services, while 65% said the government should only
purchase from BC suppliers.
MacPherson said shipyard workers in China are paid from $76 to $570 a
month, compared to average wages in the BC industry of about $3500 to
$4000 a month.
The Chinese shipyard industry also has far lower health and safety standards,
MacPherson said, pointing to a major accident in a Shanghai shipyard in
July 2001 that killed 36 workers. Independent unions are banned in China
and labour rights severely restricted, he said.
Representatives from shipyards in China, Korea and Singapore attended
a BC Ferries' bidders' conference in Nanaimo in August and are believed
to have submitted bids, MacPherson said.
For more information, contact George MacPherson at 604-254-8204.
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