Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. cargo flow should be back to normal in days after port strike, says researcher

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Jul, 2023 12:17 PM
  • B.C. cargo flow should be back to normal in days after port strike, says researcher

A logistics researcher says it should take only days for cargo flow to return to pre-strike levels at B.C. ports after a 13-day work stoppage ended with a tentative deal.

But Simon Fraser University Prof. Peter V. Hall says the port employers need to work with the union on significant long-term "structural changes" such as training to deal with the onset of automation.

Hall says he hopes the tentative agreement between the B.C. Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada that was announced Thursday includes some sort of commitment towards that goal, since ports including Vancouver will face challenges on that front.

Port workers were back on the job Thursday afternoon, with the BCMEA saying more than 500 were being dispatched at Vancouver's inner harbour by 8 a.m. today.

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's operations dashboard this morning shows the Centerm, Vanterm, Deltaport and Fraser Surrey terminals all "operating normally," with truck waiting times for loading and unloading ranging from 20 minutes to one hour and 13 minutes.

The union, which represents 7,400 workers in the job action that began July 1, has not yet commented on the pact. 

The agreement, which the BCMEA says lasts four years, is subject to ratification by members of both the union and the maritime employers, and no additional details have been released.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said Thursday that the strike that had snarled trade worth billions was over and thanked both sides.

But he and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement that the extent of the disruption showed the importance of the relationship between industry and labour, and that Canada's "supply chains and our economy depend on it."

The tentative agreement to end the strike came after O'Regan ordered a mediator to issue terms for a settlement, saying the gap in the deadlocked talks was "not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage."

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied
The government introduced the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act in 2017. It passed in February 2019 and took effect that July. It made it illegal to abandon a boat in Canada and gives the government the power to go after boat owners when their vessels are wrecked or left behind, including fines up to $1 million.

Four years after passage of law on abandoned boats, only two fines have been levied

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99
Police say it started just after nine last night when the driver of the C-L-S-550 fled the traffic stop, and the vehicle was located a short time later on Highway 99 south of the Serpentine River overpass. The investigation closed the highway for hours, but traffic is now moving again.   

High speed chase on Surrey's Hwy 99

Zelenskyy declares NATO summit victory for Ukraine as Canada, allies pledge more help

Zelenskyy declares NATO summit victory for Ukraine as Canada, allies pledge more help
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other NATO leaders wrapped up their two-day summit Wednesday, they bid farewell to a very different version of Volodymyr Zelenskyy than the one they had met the day before. Ukraine's president declared the meetings a success, even though he left without the thing he had most vehemently argued for: a quick invitation for his country to join the alliance.

Zelenskyy declares NATO summit victory for Ukraine as Canada, allies pledge more help

More evacuations, alerts, reflect difficult wildfire season in B.C., Yukon

More evacuations, alerts, reflect difficult wildfire season in B.C., Yukon
At least 12 new evacuation orders or alerts have been issued over the last day in British Columbia as lightning storms and drought conditions add to the challenge of fighting hundreds of wildfires. The BC Wildfire Service says just over two-thirds of the province's roughly 330 fires are raging in those two centres.

More evacuations, alerts, reflect difficult wildfire season in B.C., Yukon

U.S. hiker dies after falling from popular B.C. hiking trail near Whistler

U.S. hiker dies after falling from popular B.C. hiking trail near Whistler
Sea to Sky officers as well as RCMP Air Services, BC Ambulance paramedics and Whistler Search and Rescue responded to a report that a woman had fallen off the Black Tusk chimney portion of Garibaldi Provincial Park on Monday and was seriously injured.  

U.S. hiker dies after falling from popular B.C. hiking trail near Whistler

B.C. port strike could end pending approval of terms set by federal mediator

B.C. port strike could end pending approval of terms set by federal mediator
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan has given a federal mediator 24 hours to send him recommendations to end the dispute between the BC Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada. O'Regan will forward the recommendations to the two sides and says they'll have a further 24 hours to decide whether to ratify them.  

B.C. port strike could end pending approval of terms set by federal mediator