A worker walks to the Port of Vancouver as International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) union members returned to clear a backlog of containers and bulk cargo from a 13-day strike in Vancouver on July 20.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
Port employees across British Columbia have returned to work as union leaders consider a four-year mediated proposal after a turbulent week that saw their caucus reject the tentative pact approved by their bargaining committee.
Workers have been trickling back to their jobs, including employees in Vancouver who began their graveyard shifts at 1 a.m. on Thursday. Workers reported for duty on Wednesday afternoon in Prince Rupert; on Vancouver Island; and in the Vancouver suburbs of New Westminster and Delta.
About 7,400 members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) originally returned to work on July 13 after their 13-day strike. But they began walking off the job again on Tuesday afternoon, only to drop their picket lines 24 hours later. The union also rescinded a strike notice for the weekend.
Also Tuesday, the union’s caucus that includes representatives of several locals rejected the tentative pact that had been approved on July 13 by the bargaining unit. The way it unfolded exposed a gap in the positions between two bodies of the same union.
“These unions, they all have their own culture and their way of doing things,” said Mark Thompson, professor emeritus of industrial relations at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. “Through their internal mechanism, they turned it down, and that’s embarrassing for the negotiating committee presumably acting in good faith.”
A timeline of the B.C. port workers strike over the past month
The tentative deal, which a federal mediator drafted in a bid to end the strike, provides for a compounded wage hike of 19.2 per cent over four years.
Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan described this week’s strike as illegal after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled that the union failed to provide 72 hours of notice for the walkout. That in turn prompted the ILWU on Wednesday morning to issue its 72-hour strike notice to take effect on Saturday – which it revoked hours later.
“It is our hope that the union will ratify the proposed four-year agreement,” Mr. O’Regan’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
About 6,000 of the ILWU’s members are in the Vancouver region, 1,000 in the Prince Rupert area and the rest on Vancouver Island.
“With the resumption of work, coupled with the backlog of cargo during strike activity, there are high provincewide labour requirements across all port areas,” said Lindsay Familton, director of work force operations at the BC Maritime Employers Association, in a statement on Thursday.
The BCMEA represents 49 private-sector companies such as shipowners and terminal operators.
The union has emphasized three main issues at the bargaining table: Contracting out, cost-of-living wage increases and the impact of automation on job security.
“I think we were all dismayed – to be honest – when we found out that a good deal that had been worked out at the table that was agreed to both by union leadership and by the management had been suddenly rejected, and they were back in the strike position,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday. “We’re glad to see that the union is reconsidering the good offer that was on the table.”
Mr. Trudeau convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the labour impasse between B.C. port workers and their employers. The meeting was held with the Incident Response Group, federal ministers who gather in the event of a national crisis or incidents with major implications for Canada.
An array of politicians, including premiers, has warned about the disruptions to Canada’s fragile supply chain.
“We need a deal not just for the port workers and for fairness to them, but for all British Columbians and frankly, all Canadians,” said B.C. Premier David Eby.
Under the mediated proposal, the signing bonus would be about $3,000 as an “inflation adjustment allowance,” depending on the hours worked in 2022, according to two sources familiar with what the employers hope will be an acceptable pact. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The BCMEA said the median annual income for longshore workers would jump to $162,000 a year, starting in the fourth year of the proposed contact, compared with $136,000 in 2022, not including benefits and pension.
Under the mediated plan, a retirement fund designed to compensate employees for modernization and mechanization would be gradually increased, with the payout being 18.5 per cent higher in the fourth year, compared with now. Known as M&M payments, the fund earmarked for union members has grown over the years to the current lump-sum payout of $81,250, allowing a worker with at least 25 years of service to receive the payment within 30 days of retirement.
The previous five-year contract expired on March 31. If ratified by the union, the new tentative collective agreement would start on April 1, 2023, and end on March 31, 2027.
“I’m relieved to hear that the strike notice has been lifted and now they’re back at work,” federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said on Thursday.
Business groups have urged the federal government to recall Parliament to introduce back-to-work legislation in the event of the situation escalating again into a strike.
Mr. Alghabra said he is hoping for a positive outcome through the process of negotiations at West Coast ports.