B.C. ports labor dispute drags on

IMAGE: Screen seize from CBC News video

While the U.S. West Coast ports labor dispute final month reached a degree the place a tentative labor settlement may very well be reached, there’s as but no signal of any such breakthrough in Canada’s ongoing B.C. ports dispute.

Canada’s Financial Post studies that hundreds of union members on the ports stopped engaged on July 1 after negotiations linked to their wages, advantages and employment situations did not make headway.

THE ISSUE

At the core of the B.C. ports dispute seems to be upkeep work. The labor aspect, ILWU Canada, says, “The key issue that is holding up getting a deal is contracting out of ILWU maintenance work by member employers of the BCMEA [British Columbia Marine Employers Association] and the refusal of the association and its member companies to agree on a regular maintenance document that is all but complete – except for one sentence.”

The employer aspect, BCMEA, says, “ILWU Canada is making an attempt to aggressively broaden their scope and re-define Regular Maintenance Work far past what is ready out within the industry-wide settlement, which has been legally effectively established for many years. Changing this definition would lead to speedy and important impacts to terminal operations. Under the present collective settlement, the ILWU completely provides the labor power, nonetheless, it has been persistently unable to satisfy the trades work they’ve jurisdiction over.

“In the last year, there were significant shortages in key trades work. For example, in Vancouver, up to 25% of specific jobs were left unfilled as labor was not sufficiently supplied. On average, of the trades work that the ILWU Canada is exclusively entitled to supply in Vancouver, 17% of jobs went unfilled last year. This lack of labor supply has immediate impacts on terminal productivity as regular maintenance of cargo-moving equipment goes unaddressed and delayed. There is a mutual interest in both parties working together to resolve the existing labor shortage issue, but ILWU Canada is solely focused on expanding their jurisdiction to other work. The BCMEA continues to make record investments into training and upskilling the workforce including a budgeted $42.5 million in 2023.”

ILWU Canada says, “Our jurisdiction in upkeep has been aggressively eroded by member employers through the use of third occasion contractors. This will not be a problem of price for the direct employers as a result of they already pay for this work to be carried out by upkeep contracting firms. In truth, utilizing ILWU expert trades staff shall be less expensive and can lead to the next high quality of labor due to their {industry} expertise and competency.

“Neither is this an issue of the union being unable to supply skilled trades. It is an unwillingness of the employers to properly utilize our trades workers. We already have sufficient numbers of registered trades workers to meet the demands of the industry and we continue to recruit more. The issue is that the BCMEA member employers refuse to utilize them or train them as required. The BCMEA is well aware of the commitment the Union has already made in bargaining on how to improve trades utilization, but they have refused to acknowledge the solution.”

WHERE ARE THE NEGOTIATIONS NOW?

Canada’s Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service continues to try to dealer a deal within the dispute.

According to a statement released yesterday by ILWU Canada:

“On July 3, 2023, while the union was at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) waiting for a response from the employer we received a message from the mediators, that the BCMEA walked away from the table. The Union delivered a message to the federal mediators that the Union will not walk away from negotiations, we are available every day, at any hour of the day. We expressed to the mediators our disappointment that the BCMEA had abandoned talks.”

The union added that its bargaining committee had met with federal mediators earlier at present and proposed a gathering with 4 irect employers to debate with them instantly a doable resolution to the upkeep challenge within the hopes of shifting these negotiations ahead.

The union requested to fulfill instantly with the next presidents and CEOs:

Eric Waltz – Global Container Terminals Canada, Douglas Smith – DP World Canada, Craig Olley – Neptune Terminals, and Don Nonis – Pembina (additionally Chair of the BCMEA Board).

“We support Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan’s call today to immediately return to the bargaining table and remain until a deal is reached, so we call on the BCMEA to get back to the table and do the hard work necessary to reach an agreement,” stated the union. “If the association will not negotiate, we call on the member employers to negotiate directly with the union. A negotiated settlement is possible, and we are capable of getting the job done.”

A statement released by BCMEA yesterday concluded:

“We proceed to remain involved with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service on subsequent steps.

“We acknowledge the dire impression this ongoing strike is having on Canada’s economic system and Canadians – we stay prepared to achieve a good and balanced deal so ports can open, and items can begin flowing as quickly as doable.

“The BCMEA’s continued choice is to barter a good and balanced deal on the desk with ILWU Canada. Voluntary mediation-arbitration stays as an choice to right away restore stability to the availability chain.

“ILWU Canada and the BCMEA have a shared interest in seeing this resolved in an efficient manner. We are both invested in a stable, reliable waterfront that recognizes the skills of our workforce.”