Workers gather on day six of BC Port Strike, employer seeks binding arbitration
Striking gate workers will gather near the Vancouver waterfront to mark their sixth day on the picket line as they seek a new contract with the BC Maritime Employers Association.
About 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have lost their jobs since Canada Day to support demands for better wages and benefits against outsourcing and automation.
The mid-morning demonstration is organized by the union and billed as a solidarity rally, reminding members that there is pride, strength and commitment in numbers.
It comes as the employers’ association, which represents management in more than 30 BC ports, has said binding arbitration could quickly end the strike.
Federal Secretary of Labor Seamus O’Regan instead urged the two sides to use available mediators and resume negotiations.
O’Regan met with his BC counterpart, Secretary of Labor Harry Bains, on Wednesday to discuss the strike, which has shut down Canada’s busiest port, in Vancouver, as well as the third-busiest port, in Prince Rupert.
CP Rail, now known as CPKC Ltd., this week issued temporary embargoes on rail traffic to the Port of Vancouver, while Alberta and Saskatchewan officials joined corporate organizations in BC and across Canada calling for federal legislation to end the jobs campaign.
“Negotiations are still paused, but the BCMEA remains ready to re-enter at any time, assuming ILWU Canada is willing to present a reasonable proposal,” the association said in an email Wednesday.
The strike may have disrupted $3.7 billion in freight, it said.
“Auto parts, refrigerated foods, fertilizers, critical minerals and commodities… do not reach Canadians or our trading partners abroad,” the association said.
Records show that the Port of Vancouver handles approximately 142 million tons of cargo annually, with nearly 25 million tons of cargo moving through Prince Rupert by 2022.
