B.C. port strike enters day five, with talks deadlocked over maintenance

Talks between maritime employers and the union representing British Columbia port staff stay deadlocked over upkeep points as a strike by the employees enters its fifth day.

Both sides have issued statements singling out a upkeep deal as the rationale talks stalled Monday, leaving greater than 7,000 staff at 30 ports throughout B.C. on strike since Saturday morning.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada says its jurisdiction over upkeep is being eroded by means of contractors, and the important thing concern is the refusal of employers to conform to “one sentence” of a upkeep doc.

The BC Maritime Employers Association in the meantime says the union is attempting to “aggressively expand” its management of upkeep duties far past an settlement that the affiliation says has been “legally well established for decades.”

It says union staff are already unable to fulfil duties they’ve jurisdiction over, and altering the principles would have “immediate and significant impacts” at ports.

Business organizations in addition to officers in each Alberta and Saskatchewan have known as on Ottawa to step in and finish the strike, however federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says he needs the union and employers to return to the negotiating desk.