Close X
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. ports shuttered as lockout takes hold in latest labour dispute

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Nov, 2024 11:53 AM
  • B.C. ports shuttered as lockout takes hold in latest labour dispute

One of Canada's most vital trade arteries is cut off as employers at most of British Columbia's ports lock out their workers in a dispute involving about 700 unionized foremen. 

The BC Maritime Employers Association says it defensively locked out members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 after the union began strike activity yesterday.

However, union president Frank Morena says the employers grossly overreacted to the union's original plan for an overtime ban, adding that its negotiators are ready to re-engage in talks at any time.

Canadian political and business leaders have expressed concern with another work stoppage at the ports, after job action from the big railways earlier this year and a 13-day strike in a separate labour dispute last year.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade says it is relaunching its Port Shutdown Calculator, a tool to illustrate the economic damage caused by the labour dispute and introduced during the job action last year. 

Board president Bridgitte Anderson says the latest port shutdown will disrupt $800 million worth of goods daily, with every hour of the closure fuelling inflation.

"This shutdown is the latest in a long line of highly damaging labour disputes that have hurt Canada’s economy and international reputation," Anderson says.

"Through the Port Shutdown Calculator, we want to demonstrate the profound and escalating impact of this labour dispute." 

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

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. landslide 'dramatically' impacts salmon spawn but conditions improve: task force

B.C. landslide 'dramatically' impacts salmon spawn but conditions improve: task force
The Tsilhqot'in National Government says river conditions are "slowly improving" after the massive landslide that temporarily dammed the Chilcotin River last month, but salmon spawning activity is being delayed. An update from the Tsilhqot'in emergency salmon task force says debris and sediment from the slide are "dramatically" impacting sockeye and Chinook salmon spawning runs.

B.C. landslide 'dramatically' impacts salmon spawn but conditions improve: task force

Homicide investigators called in after two women die in balcony fall

Homicide investigators called in after two women die in balcony fall
Police in North Vancouver say homicide investigators have been called in after two women died from falling off the balcony of an apartment building. RCMP say officers responded to reports that two people who had fallen from the building on Esplanade Avenue in the city's Shipyards area at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Homicide investigators called in after two women die in balcony fall

Eby pledges $300M towards 1,508-bed student housing project at UBC

Eby pledges $300M towards 1,508-bed student housing project at UBC
Premier David Eby says the province and University of British Columbia will partner to create housing for more than 1,500 students at the institution's Vancouver campus. He says funding will involve $300 million from the province and $260 million from the university.

Eby pledges $300M towards 1,508-bed student housing project at UBC

Vehicle weekend shooting in Surrey

Vehicle weekend shooting in Surrey
Police in Surrey say they are investigating after shots were fired into a vehicle by an unknown assailant over the weekend. Surrey R-C-M-P say the shooting happened on the evening of August 17th, when a white S-U-V travelling south on 124 Street was allegedly followed by a suspect vehicle described as a silver Toyota Corolla.

Vehicle weekend shooting in Surrey

Man charged in Surrey murder

Man charged in Surrey murder
A 24-year-old man has been charged in the stabbing death of another man that happened in Surrey in July. BC's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says police were called to the scene of a fight on King George Boulevard on July 23rd and found a man identified as Jason Richard Gill suffering from multiple stab wounds.

Man charged in Surrey murder

White Rock scammers using technology to impersonate known companies to dupe people out of money

White Rock scammers using technology to impersonate known companies to dupe people out of money
Police in White Rock say scammers are using technology to impersonate well-known companies to dupe people out of money.  R-C-M-P say impostors use text messages, phone calls, emails and social media messages to scam people into thinking their from banks, or big companies like Amazon, FedEx and Microsoft. 

White Rock scammers using technology to impersonate known companies to dupe people out of money