Union allowed unescorted access to floatel for workers on Woodfibre LNG project
The British Columbia Labour Relations Board has upheld an earlier ruling granting unescorted access to union representatives aboard the MV Isabelle X, rejecting Aramark Canada’s attempt to reinstate an employer escort requirement.
In its March 24, 2025 decision (2025 BCLRB 72), the Board dismissed Aramark’s application for leave and reconsideration of a February ruling that amended a previously agreed Consent Order between the company and UNITE HERE Local 40.
The order had initially required union representatives to be accompanied by an employer-appointed escort when engaging with employees aboard the floatel, which accommodates workers on the Woodfibre LNG Project near Squamish, B.C.
The labour board found the employer had not demonstrated a sufficient basis to maintain the escort requirement, stating, “It was not the union’s obligation to convince the original panel why the Escort Requirement was unnecessary, but rather the employer’s to justify why it was.”
In June 2024, the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) mandated that Woodfibre LNG relocate the converted cruise ship, intended to house workers, to a designated site in Howe Sound, near Squamish, B.C., The Canadian Press (CP) previously reported.
According to the EAO, all workers who did not reside in Squamish District before Sept. 20, 2023 were mandated to reside on the floatel.
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