NORTH AND WE

FAARINE WORKERS

BOILERMAKERS |,
WhDUSTRIAL UNIOK f

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NEWS photo Teny Peters

MARINE WORKERS and Boilermakers Industrial Union members Ralph Young (left) and Godfrey Dalfonsu manned picket fines Wednesday at Versatiie Pacific Shipyards Inc.’s
North Vancouver yard. The union, siong with other members of the Joint Shipyard Conference, launched strike action against the company at midnight Tuesday. It is the first strike

at the shipyard in 25 years.

© Wa

to ca

VERSATILE Pacific Shipyards Inc. has fited an application
with the Industrial Relations Council seeking a ruling that
the current strike by unionized workers employed at its
North Vancouver and Victoria yards is iNegal.

The company’s application con-
tends that the strike by the Joint
Shipyard Conference (JSC) is il-
legal because 72-hour sirike notice
was issued improperfy and the
IRC-appointed mediator in the

dispute has aot been of ficiglis ask.
ed to book out of the negotiations.

An TRC hearing on Versatile’s
application was scheduled for late
Thursday afternoon.

Strike action was officially laun-
ched at midnight Pugsday bys the
JSC, which represents the 23
unions emploved in Versatile’s aso
vards, following union trustration
over shat tes clatm: is limited
progress in contrac! pepetaidons,

The stoke is the first to fut the

| strike

West Coast's largest shipyard since
1964 and involves about SOO Ver-
satife Workers,

JSC vice-chairman Ron
Fersuson said the strike is net over
TOneES,

Versatile, fre said. is demanding
job Oesibibty cianees thar he says
would oremase the traditvareal
jurisdictions ef the canous ship.
sad trades and throaten the very

concept of uniontsn.

Ferguson said othe demands
amount to job interchangability
that would result in the lass of "a
hell of a lor et jobs 7

IS©) nevotrators, he said, have
wreadsy aereed to amore job thes.
ibility than thes ever have in the
Paint.

See Unions
Page 5