Enbridge Northern Gateway is touting a new agreement with some trade unions that they say will ensure more local jobs and less dependency on temporary foreign workers.
The company announced on April 15 that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with four trade unions which guarantees a minimum target of 2,100 person-years of employment of union labour on the Northern Gateway project.
The agreement was signed with the Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada and the signatory unions were the Laborers’ International Union of North America, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada.
Northern Gateway spokesperson Ivan Giesbrecht said that the agreements will mean the project can maximize local employment on the right of way first, then regional and national employment.
As well as the 2,100 person-years employment, the MOU is said to ensure that the Project Labour Agreements “include guarantees consistent with Northern Gateway’s publically-stated commitments to local business opportunities, high-quality workmanship, worker and public safety, and environmental protection. And it complements existing agreements with Aboriginal communities guaranteeing employment and training opportunities,” according to a news release.