B.C. port workers’ strike enters 4th day as bargaining stalls

VANCOUVER –

Talks to finish a strike at British Columbia’s ports at the moment are stalled, with each side accusing the opposite of being unreasonable.

The BC Maritime Employers Association says it has gone so far as potential on core points and it would not suppose extra bargaining goes to supply a collective settlement.

Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have been out on picket strains for the fourth day Tuesday.

Dozens of staff marched across the affiliation’s dispatch centre on Franklin Street in Vancouver armed with indicators.

The group is accusing its employer of sabotaging the bargaining course of.

“We hope the BCMEA is not using its vast resources and connections to vilify the union and scare the public with tales of economic disaster,” wrote Rob Ashton, president of the ILWU in a news launch Monday.

The union represents greater than 7,000 staff who load and unload cargo at terminals at greater than 30 B.C. ports.

They walked off the job Saturday.

Both sides negotiated over the weekend and have been on the desk early within the day Sunday till talks fell aside.

“Each day costs the Canadian economy a billion dollars. So it’s a very significant contribution. More than a third of Canadian container traffic comes through the West Coast ports,” stated Greg Wilson, director of presidency relations for the Retail Council of Canada.

The affiliation says the compensation the union is asking for is unreasonable.

“Over the course of the past 13 years, longshore wages have risen by 40 per cent, ahead of inflation at 30 per cent. ILWU Canada member wages have increased by approximately 10 per cent in the past three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” wrote BCMEA in a news launch.

In 2022, the median wage of a union longshore employee was $136,000 a yr, plus advantages and pension.

The union says it is preventing for greater wages, stopping contract work and defending jobs from automation.

It’s asking the employer to get again to the bargaining desk.

Business leaders are calling on the federal authorities to intervene.

“Each day the strike goes on, the damage compounds and, as a consequence, then any delay means that much more damage to the Canadian economy,” stated Perrin Beatty, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. 

“Even if the government were to announce today that it was bringing parliament back, this doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to do that and to get legislation before the house and passed,” he added.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith can be sharing her issues.

“This strike action has the potential to cause substantial economic harm on families and businesses across Canada, including here in Alberta,” Smith wrote on Twitter Monday.

“We urge the federal government to work with all parties to ensure a rapid resolution to the dispute,” she added.

The business handles roughly 16 per cent of the nation’s whole traded items and contributes $2.7 billion to Canada’s GDP.