Irving secures new ship contracts that will put 140 to work
Posted Sep 24, 2013 06:31:02 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Irving Shipbuilding has won two commercial ship repair contracts for the Halifax Shipyard.
It’s estimated the combined four weeks of work will put 140 people to work.
The first ship scheduled for repairs is the M-V Oceanex Sanderling – a container/cargo ship which will arrive in the dockyard the second week of October.
In November, passenger ferry M-V Holiday Island, which makes trips to Prince Edward Island, will undergo routine maintenance. It will also take two weeks to fix.
Les Holloway with Canadian Autoworkers Atlantic says the contracts could mean some people who’ve been laid off could be back at work.
“Potentially it means not as many will be laid off, but that’s the nature of the shipbuilding business,” said Holloway. “Halifax Shipyard is a shipyard that has seen a lot of bad times, but presently we’re in a situation where we have a bright future.
In August, the shipyard said it would start laying off part of its workforce as the site prepares for $300 million in renovations in preparation to build a new fleet of navy ships.
The company didn’t reveal how many employees would be laid off, but officials said a number of trades would be affected at the site, which employs about 900 workers.
Irving Shipbuilding spokesperson Deborah Page says when it comes to which employees will do the four-week contract work, they first look internally to see who is available, then they’ll look at who has been laid off and call them in with new hiring a last resort.
