Close X
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. business groups urge end to port lockout as labour dispute halts shipping

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Nov, 2024 05:14 PM
  • B.C. business groups urge end to port lockout as labour dispute halts shipping

British Columbia's businesses leaders are urging port employers and more than 700 unionized workers to resolve their dispute immediately as a lockdown paralyzes shipping along Canada's west coast.

The BC Maritime Employers Association says no negotiations are scheduled a day after it launched what it calls a defensive lockout against members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514.

Locked-out workers have begun picketing outside terminals around the province, most of them in Metro Vancouver but also including about 70 workers in Prince Rupert and 20 in Nanaimo.

Dozens of workers wearing signs and waving blue union flags have set up a tarp shelter with folding chairs at the entrance of Neptune Terminals in North Vancouver, B.C., cheering as passing vehicles honked in support.

Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson says the work stoppage at the Port of Vancouver — Canada's largest — comes at a critical time for the economy, and her organization is calling on the federal government to "intervene immediately."

BC Chamber of Commerce president Fiona Famulak is urging employers, the union and Ottawa to "diligently to find a resolution quickly” to avoid inflicting any more harm on the Canadian economy.

"The BC Chamber of Commerce supports the right to collective bargaining," Famulak said in a statement. "However, the inability of the ILWU and BCMEA to negotiate a new agreement and avoid another work stoppage at Canada’s largest port is disappointing.

"Our port infrastructure is too critical to the health and success of businesses and workers to have this dispute continue one moment longer."

The employers and the workers represented by Local 514 have been without a contract since March 2023.

The dispute is over issues including port automation being introduced by port terminal operator DP World and what it would mean for unionized worker staffing levels.

There had been several days of mediated talks last week in an attempt to break the deadlock, but a "final offer" from the employers resulted in the union responding with a notice for strike action, which prompted the employers to lock out workers starting Monday.

The union has called the provincewide lockout an overreaction to its plans for implementing only an overtime ban, adding that it believes the employers are trying to force the federal government to intervene.

The employers, meanwhile, said they had to lock out workers because a strike notice allows the union to escalate job action without notice.

The employers association also said its final offer — which remains on the table — included a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year agreement ending in 2027 and presented a fair deal "that recognizes the skills and efforts of 730 hard-working forepersons and their families."

The union said the offer did not address its concerns over minimum guaranteed staffing requirements, given that port automation has been introduced.

Union president Frank Morena has said the union's negotiators are ready to re-engage in talks at any time.

The lockout is the latest in a number of disruptions at the Port of Vancouver this year, with a work stoppage at both major national railways and pickets going up at grain terminals hindering shipping through the port in the summer and fall.

A 13-day strike froze trade through B.C. ports in July 2023.

Anderson said the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade launched a Port Shutdown Calculator during the 2023 work stoppage to illustrate the economic costs, and the web page had been relaunched in the latest dispute.

"It is imperative that the Canadian government prioritizes economic growth, supply chain, stability, trade and investment, particularly at this critical time," Anderson said, noting the U.S. presidential election and the likelihood of protectionist policies requiring Canada to up its game in the global trade market.

"We need to ensure that we show we have stable supply chains and that we are a reliable trading partner and that our economy is growing," she said. "That has not been the narrative over the last couple of years, and so it is very concerning."

The Board of Trade said the latest port shutdown would disrupt $800 million worth of goods daily, with every hour of the closure fuelling inflation.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase
The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff. Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit.

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase

Wildfire smoke pollution linked to thousands of annual deaths: global study

Wildfire smoke pollution linked to thousands of annual deaths: global study
A new international study co-authored by a Canadian researcher says climate change is contributing to thousands more wildfire smoke-related deaths than in previous decades. The modelling study estimates that about 12,566 annual wildfire smoke-related deaths in the 2010s were linked to climate change, up from about 669 in the 1960s. 

Wildfire smoke pollution linked to thousands of annual deaths: global study

Public inquiry grapples with definition of foreign interference in its final week

Public inquiry grapples with definition of foreign interference in its final week
A federal public inquiry into foreign interference is grappling with how to define its central issue as it begins the final week of hearings in Ottawa. The inquiry will hear from expert panels this week on disinformation, national security and how to ensure electoral integrity. 

Public inquiry grapples with definition of foreign interference in its final week

Here's what the party leaders said after British Columbia's tight election

Here's what the party leaders said after British Columbia's tight election
The outcome of British Columbia's election was unclear after a close race between the NDP and the B.C. Conservatives, with the Greens poised to play a role in a potential minority government. Here's what the party leaders said on Saturday's election night.

Here's what the party leaders said after British Columbia's tight election

Bishnoi gang: Experts say fear of Indian syndicate has existed for years in Canada

Bishnoi gang: Experts say fear of Indian syndicate has existed for years in Canada
Kash Heed said the Bishnoi gang, led by Lawrence Bishnoi, gained notoriety and instilled fear among Indian Canadians well before the RCMP accused the syndicate this week of orchestrating violent crimes on Canadian soil.

Bishnoi gang: Experts say fear of Indian syndicate has existed for years in Canada

B.C.'s final election result won't be known until recounts complete Oct. 26-28

B.C.'s final election result won't be known until recounts complete Oct. 26-28
The final results of British Columbia's weekend election won't be known until at least next week. Elections BC says official recounts are being held in two tight ridings where the difference between the New Democrat and B.C. Conservatives candidates is less than 100 votes.

B.C.'s final election result won't be known until recounts complete Oct. 26-28