Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
National

Possible B.C. port strike will spare cruise ships, employers say

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Jun, 2023 05:08 PM
  • Possible B.C. port strike will spare cruise ships, employers say

A possible strike by British Columbia port workers will not disrupt cruise ships docked in Vancouver, Prince Rupert or Vancouver Island, employers say.

The BC Maritime Employers Association says it and the union representing cargo loaders have "confirmed" that cruise ships will continue to be serviced if a strike starts Saturday morning.

The association says in a statement the exemption was a result of the federal "mediation and conciliation service process."

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday and is scheduled to go on strike at 8 a.m. Saturday unless a deal is reached or progress is made in negotiations.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's schedule shows three cruise ships docked, Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas, Seabourn's Odyssey and Cunard's Queen Elizabeth.

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority also shows three cruise ships in port, The Royal Princess, The Norwegian Bliss and Holland America's Eurodam.

The strike notice, issued Wednesday affects about 7,400 terminal cargo loaders and 49 of the province's waterfront employers at more than 30 B.C. ports.

The union says that contracting out, port automation and cost of living are key issues in the dispute.

Federal ministers and British Columbia Premier David Eby have urged both sides to find a way to avert job action, with Eby saying Wednesday he was "profoundly worried" about a strike's potential impact.

MORE National ARTICLES

David Eby resists early vote in B.C. despite big byelection wins for NDP

David Eby resists early vote in B.C. despite big byelection wins for NDP
Eby says although his party's candidates did "exceptionally well" on Saturday in the ridings of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Langford-Juan de Fuca on Vancouver Island, he'll stick with the fixed election date in October 2024.

David Eby resists early vote in B.C. despite big byelection wins for NDP

B.C. moved ahead with ending letter grades despite parent, teacher, student concerns

B.C. moved ahead with ending letter grades despite parent, teacher, student concerns
Education Minister Rachna Singh said last week that about half of all public school districts have already tested and adopted the new reporting style during a modernization of curriculum that started in 2016, while the rest would implement the change this September.

B.C. moved ahead with ending letter grades despite parent, teacher, student concerns

Province announces 100K in mental health for South Asians

Province announces 100K in mental health for South Asians
The funding will support three part-time outreach workers and others who will engage South Asians who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The supports are expected to help between 50 and 75 people who use drugs as well as 150 to 200 family members.  

Province announces 100K in mental health for South Asians

Thousands mourn Sikh leader's funeral

Thousands mourn Sikh leader's funeral
Thousands of mourners from the Sikh community descended upon the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey on Sunday morning, to pay respects to the Gurdwara president, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar was shot mutliple times a week ago in the parking lot of the Gurdwara and killed in his truck.

Thousands mourn Sikh leader's funeral

Advocates urge B.C. leaders to halt planned evictions at Abbotsford, B.C., tent camp

Advocates urge B.C. leaders to halt planned evictions at Abbotsford, B.C., tent camp
The BC Civil Liberties Association and Pivot Legal Society want Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon to stop any evictions at the Lonzo Park encampment, located on provincially owned land originally intended as a park-and-ride in Abbotsford. The letter reminds Kahlon that several B.C. Supreme Court rulings have found forcible eviction is illegal when other housing options are inadequate.  

Advocates urge B.C. leaders to halt planned evictions at Abbotsford, B.C., tent camp

Man in hospital with serious injuries, IIO called in

Man in hospital with serious injuries, IIO called in
A man is in hospital with serious injuries and B-C's independent police watchdog -- the Independent Investigations Office -- has been called to the scene. The I-I-O says police say they were called to a report of a potentially impaired driver on Highway 1 through West Vancouver and told investigators there was an exchange of gunfire as they arrived.

Man in hospital with serious injuries, IIO called in