Union warns of Ottawa interference in BC dockers’ strike as talks continue

The union representing thousands of striking longshoremen in British Columbia, is asking the federal government not to intervene after business groups called for legislation to return to work.

The international longshore and warehouse Union Canada’s President Rob Ashton held a press conference Sunday afternoon after 7,400 members walked out Saturday morning.

“For the past 30 years we have had labor peace in this province. It’s been almost 30 years since our union has been on strike,” Ashton said on Sunday.

“If the (BC Maritime Employers Association) have their way, and their way is to get the government to make this collective agreement for them, there will never be labor peace on the waterfront.”

Ashton said federally brokered talks with the association are underway and will continue “all day, all night” to try to get longshoremen back to work.

“This deal must be reached at the collective bargaining table,” he said.

Business groups across Canada have sounded the alarm about the potential economic fallout from the strike, which affects thousands of freight loaders and 49 employers on the province’s waterfront in more than 30 ports across the province.

In response to calls for legislation to return to work, a spokesman for Labor Secretary Seamus O’Regan said in a statement that the federal government does not look beyond the negotiating table because that is where the best deals are struck.

“Federal mediators continue to support the parties in their negotiations,” he said.

Ashton did not answer questions Sunday afternoon and held a brief press conference flanked by members of the union’s negotiating committee outside the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service office in downtown Vancouver.

“We do not intend to leave the negotiating table. We expect the BCMEA to be here all day, all night until a deal is made so our people can go back to work with a fair negotiated deal for all of us,” he said. “Because that’s where we belong, is back to work.”

Elsewhere in BC, small communities like Prince Rupert are feeling the effects of the strike as local officials wait to see what’s in store if the dispute continues.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond told The Canadian Press on Sunday that it is difficult to overstate the importance of port operations to his community of just over 12,000 residents.

When the port terminal opened there about 16 years ago, Pond said the town was reeling from the closure of a pulp mill and a downturn in the local fishing industry.

“When the container terminal opened, we literally turned a corner in our economy,” he said. “The ensuing 16 years have been incredibly remarkable not only for our small community but also for Canada.”

Pond said the terminal has become one of the busiest and most important trading hubs in the country and the people who work there have an important presence in Prince Rupert.

“There isn’t anyone in town that doesn’t know, live next to, work with, play with someone involved in this,” he said. “It certainly saved the community and made the difference between us as a very remote small community and this critical hub for the Canadian economy.”

Pond said the port terminal has plans to expand, and CN Rail has also made investments in rail infrastructure that have the potential to create many future opportunities for Prince Rupert, though he has to wait and see as the strike continues.

“If it continues for any length of time, it’s going to be hard on families, it’s going to be hard on the community and not good for the Canadian economy,” he said. “We move a lot of goods.”

The union has previously said that outsourcing, port automation and cost of living are the main issues in the dispute.