29/06/2026
Local 1386 of the Atlantic Canada Regional Council of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Workers is raising serious safety and quality concerns following Springhill Construction Limited’s public postings to recruit temporary replacement workers (scabs) during an active strike.
The union warns that attempting to rush an unvetted, transient workforce onto the complex Intensive Care Unit (ICU) extension project at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital (DECH) puts public infrastructure, workplace safety, and patient care standards at risk.
Building a critical healthcare facility like an ICU requires the highest standard of specialized skill.
Springhill's job postings are a blatant sign of operational panic. Rather than paying local Fredericton carpenters the fair, province-standard wage they deserve, management is choosing to jeopardize a vital public healthcare project with temporary help.
Fredericton families and patients deserve better than rushed, scab-built infrastructure.
The dispute, which began with strike action on June 19, 2026, centers on achieving regional wage parity. Carpenters in the Fredericton area are currently forced to accept approximately $6.50 per hour less than workers performing the exact same commercial duties for contractors in Saint John and Moncton.
UBC Local 1386 points out the clear financial contradiction in the employer’s strategy. If Springhill Construction possesses the capital to fund aggressive mass-recruitment campaigns, absorb onboarding fees, and risk steep contractual penalties for hospital project delays, they possess the funds to bridge the $6.50 wage gap for their local workforce. They aren't hiring because they are winning; they are hiring because our picket lines at the DECH. Skilled commercial tradespeople are in critically short supply across New Brunswick. The idea that Springhill can easily replace an entire workforce of skilled professionals in this market is an empty bluff designed to intimidate our members. It will not work. Our solidarity remains absolute.
Local 1386 calls on Horizon Health, community leaders, and the provincial government to question the ethics and long-term structural risks of allowing temporary replacement workers to take over active, high-precision healthcare construction sites. The union remains prepared to return to the bargaining table the moment Springhill Construction proposes a serious offer that respects Fredericton workers with equal pay for equal work.
