B.C. port strike: What to know as disruption stretches into day 4 | 24CA News
While some Canadians had been lighting off fireworks and stress-free with pals over the Canada Day lengthy weekend, longshoremen staffing a number of the busiest ports in British Columbia had been taking to the picket strains.
A strike amongst greater than 7,000 cargo loaders at roughly 30 B.C. ports is stretching into its fourth day on Tuesday.
A stymying of commerce on the ports is critical — an estimated 25 per cent of Canada’s imports and exports flows by the Port of Vancouver and different marine gateways alongside the west coast — with consultants saying a protracted strike may do “major damage” to the financial system.
While each the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) stay on the desk as employees try to barter higher pay and job safety towards contracting out labour, the most recent developments on Monday present talks may need hit a roadblock.
The BCMEA mentioned it not believes it may discover a deal on the bargaining desk, accusing ILWU of getting “entrenched their positions” and calling calls for for compensation unreasonable.
Union management has accused the employers of negotiating in dangerous religion, and has argued employees should share in “record high profits” on the ports.
“We hope the Association is not hiding behind the threat of back-to-work legislation and binding arbitration to avoid engaging in bargaining with the Union,” mentioned ILWU president Rob Ashton in a press release late Monday.
Will the federal government legislate longshoremen again to work?
UBC Sauder School of Business professor Werner Antweiler advised Global News final week that the federal and provincial governments seemingly wouldn’t wait greater than two weeks right into a strike earlier than performing and doubtlessly legislating putting longshoremen again to work, given the potential financial influence as transport containers pile up at B.C. ports.
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan Jr. and federal mediators are on the bottom in Vancouver as negotiations proceed. O’Regan mentioned in a tweet over the weekend that “the best deals are reached” on the desk and that the main focus needs to be on bargaining.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, warning of the impacts of provide chain disruptions on prices for small companies and shoppers, referred to as on the federal government to introduce laws to “ensure that port activities are fully maintained even in the event of a strike” in a press release over the weekend.
Parliament rose for an finish to the summer season session on June 22. The House of Commons would have to be recalled earlier than any potential laws to finish the strike might be tabled.
— with information from Global News’ Amy Judd
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
