Close X
Thursday, November 28, 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. NDP Leader David Eby launches election campaign a day early in key battleground

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby launches election campaign a day early in key battleground
New Democrat Leader David Eby has launched his British Columbia election campaign a day early, making the key battle ground of Surrey his first stop. The fixed election date of Oct. 19 means the campaign doesn't officially start until Saturday. 

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby launches election campaign a day early in key battleground

RCMP ask for help in finding 7-year-old girl missing near Burns Lake

RCMP ask for help in finding 7-year-old girl missing near Burns Lake
Police are asking the public for help in finding a seven-year-old girl missing from her home about 250 kilometres west of Prince George. RCMP say Oaklynn Schwedder was last seen outside her home in the small community of Southbank, near Burns Lake, at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

RCMP ask for help in finding 7-year-old girl missing near Burns Lake

RCMP say arson destroyed Red Bridge across Thompson River in Kamloops

RCMP say arson destroyed Red Bridge across Thompson River in Kamloops
Police in Kamloops ay they have launched an arson investigation into the fire that destroyed the 88-year-old Red Bridge across the South Thompson River. RCMP say in a statement that the blaze started early Thursday morning and by the time fire crews and police arrived, the bridge was fully engulfed in flames. 

RCMP say arson destroyed Red Bridge across Thompson River in Kamloops

Calgary's mayor asks province to salvage parts of halted Green Line transit project

Calgary's mayor asks province to salvage parts of halted Green Line transit project
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is urging the Alberta government to preserve pieces of the massive Green Line transit project now being dissolved. City council voted this week to wind down the $6.2-billion project after Premier Danielle Smith's government said it would pull its $1.53 billion in funding — unless the city altered and extended the line's route.

Calgary's mayor asks province to salvage parts of halted Green Line transit project

Victims, including three Canadians, claim former Harrods boss Al Fayed was a 'monster' who abused young women, lawyers say

Victims, including three Canadians, claim former Harrods boss Al Fayed was a 'monster' who abused young women, lawyers say
Lawyers in Britain representing dozens of alleged victims — including three Canadians — of Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of Harrods, said Friday their clients assert that he was a “monster” who raped and sexually abused young women. Lawyer Bruce Drummond said three of Al Fayed's alleged victims were from Canada, including one who was "seriously, seriously assaulted when she was 16."

Victims, including three Canadians, claim former Harrods boss Al Fayed was a 'monster' who abused young women, lawyers say

Some key issues to watch for in B.C.'s provincial election campaign

Some key issues to watch for in B.C.'s provincial election campaign
The British Columbia provincial election campaign is expected to officially kick off Saturday, but party leaders have been vying for votes for months in the lead up to the Oct. 19 fixed election day. Here's a look at some of the issues that are expected to be front and centre over the next month and what the political parties have said about them so far.

Some key issues to watch for in B.C.'s provincial election campaign