Union and employer reach tentative 4-year deal to end BC dock strike

BC’s 13-day port strike appears to be over after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association agreed a tentative four-year agreement Thursday morning, both sides confirmed.

This is according to a statement from the unionthe agreement came just 10 minutes before the 10:30 a.m. PT deadline for reviewing recommended settlement terms from a federal mediator.

The agreement has yet to be ratified by both parties and no details of terms have been made public, but a indemnification from the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) said it hopes to return to normal operations soon.

“The BCMEA recognizes and regrets the significant impact this work stoppage has had on the economy, businesses, employees, customers and ultimately all Canadians,” the statement said.

“We must collectively work together to not only restore cargo operations as quickly and safely as possible, but also restore the reputation of Canada’s largest gateway and ensure supply chain stability and resilience for the future.”

About 7,400 workers have been on strike since July 1, halting shipments in and out of about 30 BC ports, including Canada’s largest, the Port of Vancouver.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade says there are 63,000 shipping containers stuck on ships waiting to be unloaded in BC ports, and that number could rise to 245,000 if the strike continues through the end of July.

Secretary of Labor Seamus O’Regan and Secretary of Transportation Omar Alghabra welcomed the news of the tentative deal and released a joint statement thanking both sides for negotiating.

“The magnitude of this disruption has been significant. Its magnitude has shown how important the relationship between industry and labor is to our national interest. We don’t want to be back here,” said the ministers.

O’Regan earlier this week ordered a mediator to issue terms of a potential settlement, saying the gap in the stalled talks was “not enough to warrant a continued work stoppage”.

Business groups have expressed relief at the news, but say they want action to prevent similar disruptions in the future.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses issued a statement saying it will take months to clear supply chain backlogs caused by the strike. The organization called on the federal government to make ports an essential service before the next labor dispute.

Bridgitte Anderson, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, asked Ottawa to “explore adding additional tools to their toolkit” for addressing future labor disputes.

“The 13-day strike has had a significant impact on Canada’s west coast ports and the Canadian economy, disrupting an estimated $9.7 billion in trade,” Anderson said in a written statement.

Significant impact on rail shipping

Canada’s railways suffered a sharp drop in container shipments this month as the strike halted more than half of its cargo in steel boxes.

According to RBC Dominion Securities analyst Walter Spracklin, Canadian National Railway Co.’s ton-mile sales fell. — a key industry metric used to measure revenue and cargo volume — up 60 percent in its first week of action.

The figure fell 45 percent at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.

The plunge has pushed the number of containers carried by Canada’s railroads last week to barely half the level it reached during the same period in 2022, according to the American Railroad Association.

The corrugated cardboard boxes, which carry everything from consumer products to auto parts, are a vital source of revenue for Canada’s two major railroads, accounting for about a quarter of annual revenue.