Maritime fish plants recruiting students, looking to automation

Seafood processors in New Brunswick say they are taking steps to deal with the chronic shortage of workers, which is being made worse by changes to the temporary foreign workers program.

Jerry Amirault, president of the Lobster Processors Association of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,and a member of the newly-formed Maritime Seafood Coalition,says they are trying to recruit students andlooking to automation to avoid sending seafood offshore for processing.

Finding workers has been a problem since 2006, whenlobster landings beganincreasingdramatically, said Amirault.

"I'm talking about going from150 million pounds landed to 330 million pounds landed and so what they tried to do was get labour wherever they could and programs, such as foreign workers."

But under new federal rules,fish plants have to reduce their percentage of foreign workers from ashigh as 65 per cent of their workforce to 10 per cent by June2016.

Amirault saysbusiness owners are looking for new ways to attract local workers.

"We hire 12 months of the year andthere arejobs available for Canadians," he said.

If we can't handle their product being landed, then it affects another big segment of rural communities that's the fishing community.-JerryAmirault,Lobster Processors Association of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

"They're posted, they're on most doors of most of the plants and you know the obvious question is,why aren't Canadians coming out to work?"

Amirault says his group is also working with the federal government, looking for ways to get anyone in the area who is receivingEmployment Insurance to at least consider available positions.

"Can you have these people specifically show up so that they'll at least come to the job interview?At least they'll have to have consideration for the job."

He says the other problem is the way fish plant jobs are listed on the Services Canada job bank.

"When you go on the jobbank description, it does not list the job in a way that you'd even consider it."

"You have to tick off under environmentthat it's a smelly environment, that it's wet, that it's cold. I mean, that's just the environment in the fish plant."

Higher wages needed

Amirault says fish plants pay between$11 and $13.75 per hour in southeastern New Brunswick and many are adding performance bonuses as an incentive.

"High school kids could make $800 or $900 perweek and they're not interested so we recruit in every possible area. We get foreign students from universities who their work ethic is totally different. They just seem to accept jobs more willingly."

On Tuesday afternoon, many Shediac residents said it willtake higher wages to attractlocals.

Roger Boudreaususpects the only reasonpeople would go to work in a processing plantwould be"probably to make their stamps."

"Why don't you pay your guys the salary they deserve? They're working hard, it's hard, hard work at a fish plant."

Amirault says a task force is currently looking at ways to automate fish processing, which could lead to better payingjobs.

In the meantime, he says unlessenough workers are found, lobster willhave to be sent offshore for processing, which is the last thing processors want.

"If we can't handle their product being landed, then it affects another big segment of rural communities that's the fishing community."

"Our people are from these villages, some of them are fourthgeneration, the owners of the companies. I can threaten that we're going to leave, but nobody wants to leave these commuinities."