Canadian beer can dispute to make waves at cruise company AGM

The 19-month dispute at packaging company Crown Packaging in Canada is set to rock the boat at the annual meeting of Carnival Cruise Lines in London on Tuesday (14 April).

The United Steelworkers (USW) union is campaigning on behalf of 120 workers at the Toronto site of Crown Packaging who have been on strike since September 2013 over cuts to their pensions, elimination of the cost of living allowance and a drastic wage cut for new starters that will create an unacceptable two tiered wage system.

The link between the two companies is that Carnival CEO Arnold Donald is also on the board of directors of Crown, pocketing an annual $200,000 for attending a few meetings a year.

A delegation of Crown workers will protest at the Carnival AGM on Tuesday (14 April) at 13.00 at Church House Conference Centre, Dean’s Yard, Westminster, SW1P 3NZ and outside the Carnival headquarters at 100 Harbour Parade in Southampton SO15 1ST at 07.45 on Wednesday (15 April).

Officers from Unite, the UK’s largest union, will be accompanying the USW members into the AGM to question the CEO and board of directors on the dispute.

Unite national officer Ian Tonks said: “The campaign’s rationale is that Carnival relies on well-paid workers to buy its cruises and by this race to the bottom, as witnessed by the Toronto dispute, many workers will no longer be able to afford the holidays that Carnival offer.

“We believe that Arnold Donald can use his influence as both CEO of Carnival and his board role at Crown to help bring this dispute to a fair conclusion.”