Merit Contractors' Association, St. John's, NL

Merit Contractors Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (Merit NL) is a group of open shop construction contractors who provide human resources solutions for their employees such as a comprehensive benefit plan, safe working conditions, access to all construction sites, meaningful and practical training programs, retirement programs, job search assistance, and more. Merit NL is dedicated to addressing the issues of the open shop construction sector and is the only voice that speaks to government and other organizations on behalf of our membership. We represent contractors in all trades of the open shop sector of the construction industry, who together with their employees, comprise of 71% of all construction workers in Newfoundland and Labrador (Statistics Canada 2011). A group of construction company owners and senior representatives of 15 general contracting firms concerned about the state of employee relations first founded Merit Contractors Association in 1986 in Alberta, following the 1982-85 recession. At the time, recessionary and competitive pressures had emaciated the workforce and had depressed wages. As well, few open shop contractors were providing benefit, retirement or training programs to their employees. Our founders felt a more cooperative approach to employee relations was required in the construction industry. Merit Contractors Association is now established in most provinces in Canada. Merit NL was officially incorporated in 1992 and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2012. Merit NL is a member of Merit Canada .