StarKist Samoa cannery kicked off the new year 2015 on a very positive note, with a large majority of its 2,000 workforce returning to work on Monday, following the cannery’s annual end of the year down-time for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

In past years the cannery has been faced with the problem of workers not returning to production at the start of the New Year after the long holiday, and especially problematic are those employees who travel to neighboring Samoa for the holidays, but fail to return on time when production resumes.

The cannery has, in the past, issued notices on local and Apia radio stations to remind workers of the dates when production begins, and when to report to work. This year, StarKist Samoa did the same.

StarKist Co., corporate spokesperson Michelle Faist said StarKist Samoa had a very good turn out, with 93% of the total work force reporting to work on Monday, when production for 2015 began.

“This is a significant improvement compared to last year. We offered cases of Wahoo for workers who will work the entire month of January,” she said from the company’s headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Two individuals whose five family members work at StarKist, said that although their relatives went to Apia for the holidays, it was important that they all return back to Tutuila in time for cannery production to resume.

“Times are tough at this point, especially after the holidays, and money is needed,” said one individual. “Besides, there are not that many jobs available on island to choose from — and it's better to have a job than no job at all.”

As for the StarKist Samoa production schedule for January, Faist said that for the first two weeks, production will run five-days each week while the last two weeks of the month will be production for six days a week.

(For several weeks late last year, StarKist Samoa production was six days a week, a fact which made many workers happy with the extra money.)

Faist also shared information on facility improvement at the Satala-based cannery, saying that “we are pleased to announce that air-conditioning was added to the facility” over the holiday break.

“The air-condition installation was completed on Sunday and cools the entire Packing room and will run all day,” she said. “The new air conditioning offers a more comfortable work environment for our employees.”

STARKIST LEASE

Meanwhile, Faist says StarKist has “no comment at this time” when asked for a response to reports received by Samoa News from fishing industry sources that the company has signed a lease agreement with ASG for use of the net-yard area at the government owned Satala shipyard.

Early last month the Shipyard Services Authority issued a request for proposal for a public-private partnership to operate and manage the government owned facility. The RFP closes at the end of this month.

When asked for comments about StarKist leasing the net area, shipyard board chairman David Robinson said that neither he nor the board know anything about any lease, adding that it's inappropriate at this time for such an arrangement as the RFP for the public-private partnership issue is yet to conclude.

Responding to Samoa News questions, the governor’s executive assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira said the lease in question is news to him “for there has never been any discussion, at least that I'm aware of, in which said lease was discussed or any decision made.”

“I know that we are doing everything possible to assist our canneries to remain competitive, but I'm not aware of any signed lease with StarKist on any area around the shipyard,” he pointed out.