Close X
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. port employers, foremen's union return to negotiation table with mediator

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Oct, 2024 05:07 PM
  • B.C. port employers, foremen's union return to negotiation table with mediator

Employers and the union representing foremen at British Columbia's ports will return to the negotiating table next week with a mediator in the latest push for a resolution in the labour dispute.

The BC Maritime Employers Association says in a statement that it will meet Oct. 29 with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, which represents about 700 port foremen. 

The statement says the negotiation session could be extended to Oct. 30 and 31 if necessary.

The last agreement between the two sides expired in March 2023, and the union said in September that members had voted 96 per cent in favour of authorizing strike action if necessary.

No job action has taken place, and no notices of strike or lockout have been issued.

Earlier this week, the Canada Industrial Relations Board issued a ruling on complaints from both sides accusing each other of negotiating in bad faith, dismissing the union's claims, while partly agreeing with the employer on its complaint. 

The union claimed one employer, DP World, refused to engage on the issue of manpower requirements linked to port automation, but the board says in its decision that workers' demands "were not presented in the context of collective bargaining or as a bargaining proposal."

The decision acknowledges that "DP World’s approach of engaging in discussions … may not be conducive to harmonious labour relations" but adds there was "no legal requirement" that the company should have acted otherwise.

The board's ruling also granted the employers' complaint against the union of bad faith bargaining "in part," specifically involving a manpower and pay proposal that was presented in April.

The union says negotiations since last year have failed to deliver a new deal.

Word of more negotiations comes with the backdrop of several recent disruptions at Vancouver's port. 

In September, grain terminal workers set up pickets at six Metro Vancouver grain terminals before a deal was reached days later.

In August, work stoppages at both major Canadian railways disrupted port operations and West Coast Express commuter rail service. 

In 2023, thousands of workers in a separate dispute at B.C.'s ports shut down most operations for 13 days and froze billions in trade at the docks.

MORE National ARTICLES

BC United promises carbon tax relief if elected government next year, says Falcon

BC United promises carbon tax relief if elected government next year, says Falcon
British Columbia's Opposition leader is promising to immediately cut the provincial carbon tax on all fuels and stop planned future increases if elected to form government next year. BC United Leader Kevin Falcon says his party would give motorists a break by eliminating the provincial fuel tax, currently at about 15 cents per litre on gasoline and diesel, and remove the carbon tax on all home-heating fuels. 

BC United promises carbon tax relief if elected government next year, says Falcon

Economy remained flat in August says Statistics Canada

Economy remained flat in August says Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada is reporting the economy flatlined in August as higher interest rates, inflation, forest fires and drought conditions weighed on the economy and its preliminary estimate suggests the economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.1 per cent in the third quarter.

Economy remained flat in August says Statistics Canada

Israeli ground forces in Gaza as Canada debates humanitarian pause

Israeli ground forces in Gaza as Canada debates humanitarian pause
A temporary respite from Israel-Hamas hostilities should not be Canada's focus, Israeli and Palestinian advocates argued separately on Parliament Hill Monday, even as the Canadian government continued to push for ``humanitarian pauses.''  

Israeli ground forces in Gaza as Canada debates humanitarian pause

B.C. commits to mandatory Holocaust education for Grade 10 students

B.C. commits to mandatory Holocaust education for Grade 10 students
British Columbia has plans to make Holocaust education mandatory for high school students with additions to Grade 10 curriculum coming in 2025. It has been a "frightening time" for the Jewish community after deadly terrorists attacks by Hamas militants in Israel earlier this month, Premier David Eby told an audience at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on Monday.

B.C. commits to mandatory Holocaust education for Grade 10 students

Surrey bylaw officers seize fireworks

Surrey bylaw officers seize fireworks
Bylaw officers in Surrey have seized 100-thousand dollars' worth of fireworks from a single unlicensed retail location, just ahead of Halloween. A statement from the City of Surrey says R-C-M-P officers found the illegal fireworks store through online and social media searches and issued municipal tickets to the owner and two employees.

Surrey bylaw officers seize fireworks

Eby says B.C. deserves heating bill relief, too, after federal tax on fuel oil paused

Eby says B.C. deserves heating bill relief, too, after federal tax on fuel oil paused
British Columbia Premier David Eby says it's unfair that Atlantic Canada is being targeted for federal relief on heating bills that won't apply to B.C., after Ottawa announced a three-year pause on carbon pricing for home fuel oil. The pause announced last week applies to the 10 provinces and territories where the federal fuel charge applies, although home fuel oil usage is more prevalent in Atlantic Canada.

Eby says B.C. deserves heating bill relief, too, after federal tax on fuel oil paused