Tag Archives: organizer John Efford Jr.
FFAW blasts price-setting panel after it sides with ASP on crab-pricing formula
With the time-sensitive snow crab season set to begin in a few days, fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador are once again talking about tying up their boats due to the price of crab. The province’s price-setting panel sided with the Association of Seafood Producers on Monday evening, setting a price floor of $2.60 per pound with the ability go up as market factors change. The panel rejected a formula proposed by the Food, Fish & Allied Workers union, which was closely tied to the formula suggested by an independent report at the end of last season. “There was a better way to do this,” said FFAW president Greg Pretty. “The work was already done by Glen Blackwood in his report. The Blackwood formula provided a way for harvesters to be paid a fair market share, but that was tossed aside for a formula that is not tied to information harvesters can trust.” more, >>click to read<< 11:26
DFO delays opening of crab season by a week, staving off more fish harvester protests
The federal government has agreed to push back the opening of the snow crab season, following a request from the fisheries union and a threat of more protests. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans made the announcement Monday evening, a day after the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union wrote to the department and asked for a one-week delay. Fish harvesters wanted time to iron out the details of an agreement last week with the provincial government to implement sweeping changes to the industry that would affect the upcoming season. DFO initially denied that request, releasing its management plan Monday morning with an expected start date of April 1, prompting influential fisherman John Efford to threaten to rally protesters outside the DFO office in St. John’s. more, >>click to read<< 17:31
N.L. protest cause rooted in price-setting systems for fishers and processors
The protest that erupted Wednesday outside the legislature in Newfoundland and Labrador has its roots in a complex, years-long struggle between independent fish harvesters and processors over the price-setting system, industry observers say. Sean Cadigan, a professor of history at Memorial University, said in an interview Thursday that one underlying factor in the tensions is the plunge in prices for snow crab, the province’s most valuable seafood export. From highs of over seven dollars per pound during the pandemic, the price fell to about two dollars per pound last year, creating hardships for harvesters at a time harvesters’ expenses are rising. He said that has combined with long-standing suspicions that harvesters have toward the small group of companies that dominate fish processing in the province. more, >>click to read<< 07:40
Snow crab price talks have broken off, FFAW says
Protest leader John Efford Jr. grabbed a megaphone Thursday to told the crowd that negotiations for a new crab price-setting formula had broken off ahead of the upcoming season. “There’s no agreement to be made,” he told the cheering crowd. “And how can you make an agreement when you’re trying to make an agreement with a colluded cartel that has the support of the government?” While the price-setting process has been controversial in the past, it hasn’t been at the core of the protests outside the province’s legislature this week. The Fish, Food & Allied Workers union and the Association of Seafood Processors have been working with the provincial government to establish a new formula to determine the price. more, >>click to read<< 17:12
Police don riot gear as Furey’s Liberals make 2nd attempt at budget amid protests
It’s deja vu at Confederation Building in St. John’s on Thursday morning, as police and protesters have shown up in large numbers ahead of the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s plans to introduce the 2024 budget. By 6 a.m. NT, dozens of Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers — some in riot gear — were standing guard in front of the main entrances to the building and a growing number of fish harvesters were arriving on scene. Police were seen having a cordial conversation with protest leaders, urging them to avoid a repeat of Wednesday’s raucous events — particularly with a court-ordered injunction now in place that prohibits protesters from blocking safe access to Confederation Building, which is both home to the legislature and the main government complex. Protest leader John Efford Jr. addressed the crowd a few minutes later. Photos, Video, more, >>click to read<< 06:24
N.L. government seeks injunction against fishermen amid tense protest at Confederation Building
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has gone to the Supreme Court to seek an injunction against fish harvesters who swarmed Confederation Building on Wednesday as part of an ongoing protest over fishery regulations that has led to the postponement of the provincial budget. The government announced the postponement after protesters blocked entrances to the building, refused to let government workers inside and had physical confrontations with police officers and horses. A protester complaining of leg pain and a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer have been taken from the scene in an ambulance. Protest organizer John Efford Jr. called the budget cancellation historic.”And I have a feeling it may be cancelled again tomorrow, the next business day and the next business day until we get what ? Free enterprise,” he said. Video’s, Photos, more, >>click to read<< 10:53
