BC Port Strike ends as employers and union reach tentative 4-year deal

The union representing more than 7,400 dock workers in BC on strike has reached a tentative labor agreement with the organization representing their employers after nearly two weeks of work shut down that affected thousands of businesses across Canada.

The BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) said in a rack on July 13 that it had reached a “preliminary agreement on a new 4-year deal” with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU), representing the striking workers.

The agreement is yet to be ratified by both the BCMEA and ILWU, for which reason the former said it will not release details of the deal for now.

“The BCMEA is committed to working closely with ILWU Canada and their local people and supply chain partners to safely resume operations as soon as possible,” the employers’ organization wrote in the statement. “Stay tuned for further operational updates.”

The tentative deal comes shortly after Federal Labor Secretary Seamus O’Regan told ILWU and the BCMEA in a July 11 letter that he had one day given a senior federal mediator time to find recommended terms to end the BC port strike. to end.

Mr O’Regan interfered in the negotiations saying the disagreements between the BCMEA and ILWU were not enough to “justify a continued work stoppage”.

Mr O’Regan responded to news of the preliminary agreement on July 13 by proverb the “strike is over.”

“The magnitude of this disruption has been significant,” he said in a joint rack with Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, adding: “Our supply chains and our economy depend on it. We don’t want to come back here.”

Since it began on July 1, the strike has halted shipments both in and out about 30 BC. Ports, including the Port of Vancouver, the largest in Canada.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.