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Big trouble! The country's busiest port strikes again, delays intensify, shipments beware →
Aug 03,2023
In a statement on Friday, Rob Ashton, president of the International Terminals and Warehouses Union of Canada (ILWU), said members voted against the contract and called on their employers to "come to the table and negotiate something that works for their members and the industry".
The employers, the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), said they were disappointed to learn late Friday that the four-year tentative agreement had been rejected. "The proposed four-year agreement is a good agreement that recognizes the skills and efforts of British Columbia's waterfront workforce while providing certainty and stability for the future of Canada's West Coast ports," the BCMEA staff said in a press release." "ILWU Canada's inability to approve a fair and balanced tentative agreement has put Canadians, businesses and the entire supply chain at risk, has caused billions of dollars in damage, and will further undermine affordability and increase costs for Canadians." The BCMEA shared details of the four-year deal rejected by the union. The agreement includes a 19.2 per cent pay rise, a $1.48 per hour signing bonus to each employee and a 18.5 per cent increase in lump sum payments to "modernize and mechanize" retirement, the company said.
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, more than half of Canada's small businesses were negatively affected during the strike. "We are very surprised and worried... We don't know what will happen next and hope that the union will not issue another strike notice. We hope that the port business will continue to move forward while the negotiations are ongoing," the official said." On Saturday, Federal Labor Minister Seamus Oregan posted his comments on social media:
"This state of uncertainty cannot continue. While our British Columbia ports are currently operational, we need to provide long-term stability for the many workers and businesses that rely on them.
As Minister of Labor, I exercise my authority under Section 107 of the Canadian Labor Code to maintain industrial peace. I have directed the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to determine whether the union's rejection of the interim agreement precludes a negotiated settlement.
If the board determines that this is the case, I have instructed them to either enforce a new collective agreement against the parties or enforce a binding final arbitration to resolve the outstanding terms of the collective agreement."
On Friday, after a dispute between the union and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) earlier this month led to the closure of port facilities in the province for 13 days, the ILWU said it would recommend that members accept the agreement with the employer.
The earlier strikes were so severe that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened the government's incident response team to discuss the matter, a situation that usually only arises in times of national crisis. In the previous 13 days, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade estimated that $10 billion worth of traded goods were affected.
Given the congestion at these major ports in Canada,Xiao Bian reminded the shippers and forwarders who have recently traded with Canada to pay close attention to the development of the situation, arrange the shipment plan reasonably, and pay attention to the impact of port congestion on the delay of cargo transportation and customs clearance.
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