Trucks carrying cargo containers arrive at the Port of Vancouver Centerm container terminal in Vancouver in October, 2022.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Members of a longshore local have voted unanimously in favour of a strike mandate at DP World Canada’s container terminal at the Port of Vancouver after union leaders warned about the impact of semi-automation on job security at the site.
But Local 514 of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada said it has decided to delay serving 72-hour strike notice at DP World Canada’s Centerm site, where 116 unionized members would be affected.
Frank Morena, president of the local, said union officials have agreed to participate in federal mediation next week. Members of the local are supervisors of the ILWU’s rank-and-file workers, who went on strike last July.
Local 514 represents about 730 ship and dock forepersons across British Columbia. Forepersons at other B.C. work locations have not yet taken a strike vote.
Mr. Morena rejected recent claims by the BC Maritime Employers Association that union leaders are to blame for the impasse in contract talks.
“Our union members want to negotiate a fair contract with our employer – DP World Canada – and continue our important work in the port but the BCMEA has been an obstacle to reaching a new collective agreement,” Mr. Morena said in a statement.
The BCMEA represents DP World Canada, whose parent is based in Dubai, and 48 other private-sector companies such as ship owners and terminal operators.
Mr. Morena said semi-automation at Centerm has been deployed without first bargaining about the use of technological change. The Centerm dispute is one of three key issues, with the others being centralized dispatching, and the use of management dispatchers instead of unionized members at the Nanaimo terminal on Vancouver Island.
At the Port of Vancouver, GCT Global Container Terminals Inc. runs the Deltaport and Vanterm container sites, while DP World Canada operates the Centerm container site and the multipurpose Fraser Surrey Docks.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority oversees Canada’s largest port while three other B.C. authorities are responsible for locations in Prince Rupert in Northern B.C. and the Vancouver Island communities of Port Alberni and Nanaimo.
Last week, the BCMEA filed a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, alleging bad-faith bargaining on the part of union leaders.
But Mr. Morena said it is the group of employers that is the problem. “Let’s be clear – it was the BCMEA that broke off talks, not ILWU Local 514,” he said.
“We have the legal right, confirmed by arbitration, to negotiate directly with DP World Canada and it is only our members certified at DP World Canada that have taken a legal strike vote over issues directly related to their work.”
The previous five-year collective agreement at Local 514 expired on March 31, 2023. After bargaining stalled last year, negotiations resumed in January with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. A cooling-off period of 21 days expired last week without any resolution in the mediation process.
The expired collective agreement includes an appendix that covers jobs such as ship planners and dispatchers at DP World Canada.
In a statement on Thursday, the BCMEA said it needs to protect the stability and reliability of B.C. ports while recognizing the importance of negotiating at the bargaining table.
“The BCMEA is deeply committed to bargaining in good faith on behalf of its members to conclude a fair and balanced agreement with ILWU Local 514,” the group of employers said. “We sincerely believe the best deals are achieved at the table and are confident that a negotiated agreement is possible through continued mediation.”
About 7,400 rank-and-file members of the ILWU went on strike for two weeks last July, disrupting cargo shipments, before union officials reached a four-year deal in August. About 6,000 of those ILWU members are in the Vancouver region, 1,000 in the Prince Rupert area and the rest on Vancouver Island.