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January 20, 1988 News 985-2131 Classified 986-6222 Distribution 986-1337 40 pages 25¢

Versatile Pacific workers vote 96% against contract proposal

VERSATILE PACIFIC Shipyards Inc.’s unionized workers
in North Vancouver and Victoria voted 96 per cent Sunday

to reject the final contract offer from the company.

Ron Ferguson, vice-chairman of
the Joint Shipyard Conference
USC), which represents the 21
unions employed at Versatile’s
North Vancouver and Victoria
yards, said Monday approxmately
900 members from the unions’ se-
niority list cast ballots in Sunday's
vote.

The current contract with the
company’s unions expired Aug.
31, but was extended to Dec. 33. It
covers about 1,200) Versatile
employees.

Ferguson said negotiations
would resume with the company
later this week. But nothing was
confirmed to press time Tuesday.

Contract talks between the JSC
and the company concluded in
December following six months
and 22 negotiating sessions.

WAGE CUTS

Though both sides have agreed
to release no details of either con-
tract demands or offers, the com-
pany is asking its workers to accept
pay cuts ro help Versatile reduce its
operating costs by between 30 and
35 per cent and thereby help it to
bid more competitively against east
coast and American shipyards on
shipbuilding and repair contracts.

In 1987, Versatile bid on 193
jobs and won 42 contracts. Accor-
ding to management figures, in the
majority of the jobs that were
missed, the company was within 30
per cent of the winning bid.

Versatile is currently pursuing
contracts in four main areas: aew
ship construction, local vessel
repair, deep sea vessel repair and
assorted unspecified industrial
projects.

‘RESPONSIBLE’ OFFER

Versatile president David Alsop
has described the final company
offer as ‘‘responsible...in view of
the economic realities we are fac-
ing.”

The union is requesting no wage
increase, but views wage cuts as
unacceptable.

Current wage rates for unionized
Versatile workers range between
$16.80 per hour for unskilled la-
borers and up to $18.50 per hour
for tradesmen. Under the com-
pany'’s final offer, those wages

would be $12 and $17.75 per hour
respectively.

Union otficials declined com-
ment on Sunday's vote, and Alsop
was unavailable for comment.

Though Versatile, along with its
Vancouver partner Sandwell Swan
Wooster Inc., has been awarded
the $350 million Polar Class 8
icebreaker contract by the federal
government, actual construction
on the vessel is not scheduled to
begin until mid-1989.

DAVID ALSOP
The company is now working on
the $7.9 million Polar 8 design
contract and the vessel’s construc-

tion proposal.
When Polar 8 construction does

begin, employment provided by
the project will run up to an
estimated 1,000 jobs over a peak
18-month period. But there are
currently less than 1C0O tradesmen
working at Versatile’s North: Van-
couver yard. !n addition, the com-
pany’s salaried office staff has
been reduced by 40 per cent,

Consolidation of the yard’s of-
fices in facilities on the east side of
the North Vancouver yard, which
will leave the office buildings in its
Lonsdale Avenue frontage empty,
is scheduled to be completed by
mid-February. -

Alsop has said there are current-
ly ‘no specific plans’’ for the west
side office and antiquated yard fa-
cilities,