B.C. port strike continues deadlock, major issues over maintenance

Talks between maritime employers and the union involved in British Columbia’s port strike are deadlocked over maintenance work, both sides say.

The union blamed the employers association for failing to agree on “one sentence” in a maintenance deal, while the association said the union was trying to “aggressively expand” control over work it was already unable to fulfil.

More than 7,000 workers at 30 ports across B.C. have been on strike since Saturday morning, leading business organizations as well as officials in both Alberta and Saskatchewan to call on Ottawa to step in.

In a statement issued on Jul. 4, a day after talks stalled, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada said its jurisdiction over maintenance has been eroded by employers in the BC Maritime Employers Association who were using contractors.

“The key issue that is holding up getting a deal is contracting out of ILWU maintenance work by member employers of the BCMEA and the refusal of the association and its member companies to agree on a regular maintenance document that is all but complete — except for one sentence.”

The employers association, meanwhile, said it had hoped Jul. 3’s pause “would act as a reset in negotiations” but “regrettably” the union had shown no willingness to modify its position.

“ILWU Canada is attempting to aggressively expand their scope and redefine regular maintenance work far beyond what is set out in the industry-wide agreement, which has been legally well established for decades,” it said on Jul. 4.

Hartley Witten, a spokesman for the minister’s office, said the primary difference between the situation in Montreal and the current strike is that there was an eight-month truce between the parties in Montreal before the strike.

“Here we had federal mediators that were involved for a number of months before, but I think to suggest there was the same sort of lead-up and we were caught flat-footed, is incorrect.”

He said every collective bargaining situation has unique circumstances and B.C.’s case involves significantly more ports than the single location in Montreal.

Jeremy Harrison, Saskatchewan’s minister of trade and export development, said on Jul. 4 that shippers in that province have warned the strike is already slowing down the flow of goods, and the current work stoppage will have long-lasting effects on the supply chain.

“It may take weeks or even months to fully recover from these disruptions. Strain on the supply chain leads to additional costs that end up being passed along to consumers, including those in Saskatchewan,” he said.

“We encourage the government of Canada to do everything within its power to facilitate a resolution in the best interests of all Canadians.”

Groups representing Canadian businesses also want the federal government to intervene, with one organization calling for legal changes that would discourage future disruptions.

On Jul. 4, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters said designating ports and rail lines as essential infrastructure and limiting when and where labour and other disruptions can occur would provide manufacturers the stability they need.

“A strike of this magnitude not only disrupts the Canadian economy but damages our global trading reputation, hurts already fragile supply chains, and puts jobs at risk,” the group said in a statement.

“Given that the federal government understands what is at stake, (Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters) urges them to intervene now to reassure manufacturers that they will not bear the brunt of a labour dispute that is beyond their control.”

The group, which says its members account for about 82 per cent of total manufacturing production and 90 per cent of Canada’s exports, estimates that the movement of $500 million worth of goods is being disrupted every day.