As a longshoring lockout or strike looms, BC ports face an uncertain future.

 

With 72 hours' notice, thousands of longshore workers in British Columbia and the BC Maritime Employers Association are now free to strike or lock out employees at any moment, with potentially serious repercussions.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a federal agency that provides conflict resolution to employees in significant economic sectors, continues to assist the parties' negotiators in their meetings.

Indeed, ports around the coast of British Columbia are important industries.

The largest port in the country, the Port of Vancouver, is home to 29 terminals that serve 16 communities around Metro Vancouver. The port handles $1 of every $3 of Canada's trade with countries outside of North America, according to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the responsible federal organisation. 

The port serves as a gateway to 170 nations and supports 115,300 employment, $7 billion in earnings, and $11.9 billion in GDP for all of Canada.

The third-largest port in Canada after the Port of Montreal, the Port of Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia, would also be impacted.

The 49 private waterfront firms represented by the BC Maritime firms Association said in a statement that talks are still ongoing.

"The BCMEA remains committed to bargaining in good faith and pursuing a fair and balanced agreement that recognises the expertise of the waterfront workforce, while ensuring West Coast ports remain competitive, resilient, and accessible to all Canadians," the union stated.

Rob Ashton, president of the ILWU-Canada, was contacted by Black Press Media for comment, but he did not respond by the deadline.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents almost 7,200 dockworkers, received 99.24 percent of the vote on June 12 in favour of a strike, if required.

Negotiations started in early February, and the last deal expired on March 31. After protracted negotiations, a brief lockout, and threats of a full-blown strike, both parties had come to that agreement in May 2019.

Because of labour negotiations at 29 American ports from Washington State to California and Vancouver's ranking as North America's third-largest port in terms of cargo capacity, the union's vote to strike attracted international attention in the United States.

There has since been a tentative agreement reached, but 22,000 employees still need to approve it.

The economy is slowing down and there are concerns about the effectiveness of the local port as negotiations take place in British Columbia.

The Port of Vancouver was ranked second-to-last out of 348 container ports in an index created by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence based on vessel wait times. Near the Vancouver Island coast, delays have led to problems.

Source : Article from vancouverislandfreedaily

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