Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Union talks underway between foremen, employers to avoid latest B.C. port strike

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 31 Oct, 2024 12:21 PM
  • Union talks underway between foremen, employers to avoid latest B.C. port strike

Negotiations between British Columbia's port employers and the union representing foremen are entering a final scheduled day in a bid to avoid a labour disruption.

Both the BC Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 confirm talks are ongoing with the help of federal mediation services.

The current negotiation session began on Oct. 29 and was said to be extendable by two days, if necessary.

The union, which represents about 700 foremen at the ports, has said if talks break down it has a mandate from members to strike that expires on Nov. 2.

No job action has taken place and no notices of strike or lockout have been issued, but Local 514 president Frank Morena has said "the clock is ticking" given the strike mandate's expiring date.

Negotiations began last year after the last contract expired in March 2023.

The union said in September that members voted 96 per cent in favour of authorizing strike action if necessary.

The dispute has been centred around one employer, DP World, and its manpower requirements as it relates to automation.

The union has said it had "no interest in an industry-wide dispute" because it wanted to negotiate with DP World directly, but the Canada Industrial Relations Board said the union can't bargain with one employer alone.

The union said that ruling prompted members to take an industry-wide vote on a strike mandate. 

The Canada Industrial Relations Board also ruled earlier this month on complaints from both sides alleging negotiating in bad faith, dismissing the union's claim, while partly agreeing with the employers' complaint. 

Vancouver's port — the largest in Canada — has seen a number of recent disruptions, including in September when workers set up pickets at six Metro Vancouver grain terminals.

A month before that, port operations were disrupted by work stoppages at both major Canadian railways.

A 13-day port workers strike last year froze billions in trade at the docks.

MORE National ARTICLES

Tales of blood and death on streets make B.C. party leaders' debate grim listening

Tales of blood and death on streets make B.C. party leaders' debate grim listening
The 90-minute exchange of views involving NDP Leader David Eby, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad and Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau, hosted by Angus Reid Institute president Shachi Kurl, sometimes made for grim listening.

Tales of blood and death on streets make B.C. party leaders' debate grim listening

Court finds man not justified in killing Bear the Chihuahua in Boston Bar

Court finds man not justified in killing Bear the Chihuahua in Boston Bar
A British Columbia provincial court judge has ruled that a Boston Bar man who shot a tea-cup Chihuahua named Bear claiming it was menacing his chickens was not justified in killing the animal. The court said in a ruling published online that Behrouz Rahmani Far had been in a bitter, years-long feud with the dog's owner, his neighbour Glenn Kurack. 

Court finds man not justified in killing Bear the Chihuahua in Boston Bar

Man charged after prominent Calgary radio host attacked

Man charged after prominent Calgary radio host attacked
27 year old Dilpreet Singh from Calgary been charged with assaulting a prominent Calgary radio host, who alleges he was targeted because of the station's news reporting. Police say they received a call on Sept. 29 about an assault near a banquet hall in the Horizon neighbourhood.

Man charged after prominent Calgary radio host attacked

B.C. man gets prison sentence, fine for using fake names to buy guns in the U.S.

B.C. man gets prison sentence, fine for using fake names to buy guns in the U.S.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada. A statement from the United States Attorney's Office in Montana says Haptei John Kozak pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of making false statements during a firearms transaction. 

B.C. man gets prison sentence, fine for using fake names to buy guns in the U.S.

Vancouver Island man charged in hit-and-run that killed 17-year-old girl

Vancouver Island man charged in hit-and-run that killed 17-year-old girl
A man from Vancouver Island is facing a criminal charge in connection to a fatal hit-and-run that killed a teenager earlier this year. The North Cowichan-Duncan RCMP says a 28-year-old man from the Cowichan Valley is accused of failing to stop at the scene of an accident causing death.

Vancouver Island man charged in hit-and-run that killed 17-year-old girl

Officers in B.C. make dozens of seizures of methamphetamine bound for Australia

Officers in B.C. make dozens of seizures of methamphetamine bound for Australia
Canadian border officers in British Columbia made 60 seizures of methamphetamine destined for export to Australia between March and August. The Canadian Border Services Agency says the seizures totalled nearly 400 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and close to 1,300 litres of a liquid form of the drug.

Officers in B.C. make dozens of seizures of methamphetamine bound for Australia