A former outspoken labour leader has passed away.

Wayne Ralph passed away on Tuesday at the age of 68.

Ralph was a former president of the United Food and Allied Workers Union local 1252. He led the union, which represented fish plant workers among others, at a particularly difficult time in the province’s history.

He joined the union in 1988 when the northern cod fishery was in decline, and often went head-to-head with the FFAW, a rival union in the province’s fishery.

He stepped down as union president in 2002 after six years at the union’s helm.

The funeral service will take place on Saturday, February 1st at 11:00 a.m. from the Church of the Ascension in Mount Pearl.