A container ship makes its way into the Port of Vancouver past vessels at anchor in English Bay, as seen from Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver, on May 10.Chris Helgren/Reuters
Contract talks between employers and the longshore union at B.C. ports have reached an impasse, raising concerns about disruptions to Canada’s supply chain.
Local 514 of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada, representing about 730 ship and dock forepersons, has acquired the right to go on strike. Members of the local are supervisors of the ILWU’s rank-and-file workers, who went on strike last July.
The BC Maritime Employers Association, representing 49 private-sector companies such as shipowners and terminal operators, has the ability to lock out the forepersons. On Friday, the BCMEA filed a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, alleging bad-faith bargaining on the part of union leaders.
The employers describe their latest offer as generous, saying they proposed a compounded wage increase of 19.2 per cent over four years, which would result in median compensation for forepersons rising to $293,617 annually, compared with the current $246,323 a year, not including benefits and pension.
In addition, the BCMEA said its most recent offer includes a signing bonus averaging $3,243 for each foreperson and an improved retirement payout of $108,750, which would be on top of each employee’s pension entitlements.
“If the agreement were signed today, on average, eligible workers could receive a cumulative lump-sum payment in the range of $15,000, inclusive of the signing bonus and retroactive pay,” the BCMEA said in a statement, issued after a cooling-off period of 21 days expired on Friday without any resolution in the mediation process.
Veteran mediator appointed to head inquiry into disputes at B.C. ports
Frank Morena, president of Local 514, said that before he makes any comments to media about the BCMEA, bargaining issues must first go through the union’s contract caucus committee.
“If or when we comment on negotiations, we will certainly provide you with our comments,” Mr. Morena said in a text message on Sunday to The Globe and Mail.
The previous five-year collective agreement expired on March 31, 2023. After bargaining stalled last year, negotiations resumed in January with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
“Despite the BCMEA’s best efforts, ILWU Local 514 has been protracting negotiations, putting Canada’s supply chain and our global trade reputation at further risk,” the group of employers said in their statement.
“When our ports and supply chain are threatened with disruption, cargo is diverted.”
About 7,400 rank-and-file members of the ILWU went on strike for two weeks last July, disrupting cargo shipments. About 6,000 of those ILWU members are in the Vancouver region, 1,000 in the Prince Rupert area in Northern B.C. and the rest on Vancouver Island.
In last summer’s labour dispute, the ILWU listed three key issues: Contracting out of jobs, cost-of-living wage increases and the impact of automation on job security.
The BCMEA said that under the new rank-and-file contract that took effect on April 1, 2023, the median annual income for full-time longshore workers will climb to $162,000 a year, starting in the fourth year of the contract, compared with $136,000 in 2022. Full-time employees account for about 40 per cent of the work force.
The 13-day strike at the beginning of July at B.C. ports and a 24-hour walkout days later created upheaval in the supply chain, including trains and trucks.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade estimated that work stoppages in July led to the disruption of nearly $10.7-billion worth of goods.
Prior to any new work stoppage, Local 514 members would first have to participate in a strike vote. If there is a strike mandate, the ILWU would then need to serve 72-hour strike notice.
The BCMEA would need to have its members decide on whether to lock out the supervisors, if the group of employers decides to go that route.
A coalition of business groups tried unsuccessfully to persuade the federal government to recall Parliament last summer to introduce back-to-work legislation.
Seamus O’Regan, the federal Labour Minister, said that in the bargaining process between the BCMEA and Local 514, he will resist intervening.
“Let them do their good work without me pestering or interfering,” he said in an interview last month, after he appointed veteran mediator Vince Ready to head an industrial inquiry commission into disputes at B.C. ports.