Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Tentative four-year deal reached in B.C. port strike, subject to ratification

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Jul, 2023 12:55 PM
  • Tentative four-year deal reached in B.C. port strike, subject to ratification

A tentative deal has been reached between employers and workers in the strike that has halted shipments in and out of British Columbia ports for nearly two weeks.

A statement from the B.C. Maritime Employers Association says it has reached a four-year agreement with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, which represents 7,400 workers in the job action that began July 1.

The tentative deal comes after federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan ordered a mediator to issue terms of possible settlement earlier this week, saying the gap in the deadlocked talks was "not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage."

In a tweet responding to the tentative deal, O'Regan says "the strike is over," and the "parties are finalizing details for the resumption of work at the ports."

Both the union and the employers had 24 hours to respond to the mediator's recommended terms, which both sides received yesterday.

The deal is subject to ratification by members of both the union and the maritime employers, and no additional details have been released beyond the association saying it "recognizes the skills and efforts of B.C.'s waterfront workforce."

The statement says employers are working to restart operations at B.C. ports as soon as possible, but no specific resumption time has been announced.

The strike has halted shipments in and out of about 30 ports in B.C., including Canada's largest, the Port of Vancouver.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade says there are 63,000 shipping containers stuck on vessels waiting at B.C. ports to be unloaded as of yesterday, and that number would have ballooned to 245,000 had the strike persisted to the end of July.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Logging truck failure set off crash that killed 3 in Cranbrook, B.C.: RCMP

Logging truck failure set off crash that killed 3 in Cranbrook, B.C.: RCMP
The crash on Highway 3 last Wednesday involved three vehicles, but police say those who died were all in a Chevrolet Suburban.  RCMP say the collision analysis and reconstruction service is still investigating the crash. 

Logging truck failure set off crash that killed 3 in Cranbrook, B.C.: RCMP

BC Ferries wants public opinion on former buffet space

BC Ferries wants public opinion on former buffet space
B-C Ferries is asking for the public's help in deciding what to do with its former buffet spaces on its Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route. It says an online survey will be open for three weeks and, using that feedback, it hopes to transform the space this fall.  

BC Ferries wants public opinion on former buffet space

Assault at a school in Maple Ridge

Assault at a school in Maple Ridge
Mounties in Ridge Meadows say they are investigating an assault at a local school. They say officers responded to the incident at a school at 116-B Avenue around 9:40 P-M on Saturday – outside of regular school hours.

Assault at a school in Maple Ridge

What the interest rate hike means for mortgage holders, home hunters

What the interest rate hike means for mortgage holders, home hunters
The hike is aimed at quelling inflation, which has proved stubborn, not moving down quickly enough toward the central bank's target of two per cent. However, the hike is also bound to weigh on those hunting for homes or holding mortgages.

What the interest rate hike means for mortgage holders, home hunters

BOC boosts key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent, highest since 2001

BOC boosts key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent, highest since 2001
As the economy continues to outperform expectations, the Bank of Canada has chosen to act sooner rather than later to clamp down on inflation, raising interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday. Its key interest rate now sits at 4.75 per cent, the highest it’s been since 2001.

BOC boosts key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent, highest since 2001

Vancouver Island scuba divers spot sixgill shark in rare shallow-water sighting

Vancouver Island scuba divers spot sixgill shark in rare shallow-water sighting
Connor McTavish and three companions had just planned to explore the site of a shipwreck in Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island last month when he spotted something in the corner of his eye — a two-metre-long sixgill shark. McTavish and fellow divers Garrett Clement, Danton West and Matteo Endrizzi had made the trip from Nanaimo, B.C., to explore the waters of the inlet in late May. 

Vancouver Island scuba divers spot sixgill shark in rare shallow-water sighting