No word on when talks will resume after port strike negotiations break down
The Canadian Press | Posted: July 10, 2023 2:36 PM | Last Updated: July 10, 2023
Representatives from labour groups as far away as Australia and New Zealand spoke at rally Sunday
Striking British Columbia dock workers and their employer held a round of bargaining over the weekend, the first since negotiations collapsed one week ago, but neither side is saying when, or if, more talks are planned.
Negotiations between the two sides, supported by federal mediators, resumed Saturday after talks broke down Monday.
About 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have been on strike since July 1, idling all cargo handling at the Port of Vancouver, Canada's busiest harbour.
Prince Rupert, the country's third busiest port, and more than 28 others along the length of the B.C. coast are also behind picket lines.
WATCH | How the port strike in B.C. will impact all of Canada:
The B.C. Maritime Employers Association says in its latest statement, issued Saturday after the round of mediated talks, that it made an offer to address dock workers' demands to expand union jurisdiction over regular maintenance work at terminals.
Jurisdiction over maintenance, as well as improved wages and language to prevent contracting out and automation are key issues in the dispute.
The union has not responded publicly to the association's proposal, but a union leader told a rally in Vancouver on Sunday that control over maintenance is a "line in the sand,'' and although longshore workers can't prevent automation, they, not contractors, should make repairs if robots break.
Hundreds rally over weekend
Hundreds of people gathered in Vancouver over the weekend for a rally to support striking British Columbia port workers as their job action stretches into its second week.
Representatives from labour groups as far away as Australia and New Zealand spoke at the event Sunday in support of the strikers, who continue to push for improved wages as the cost of living climbs, as well as protection from what they see as an overuse of contractors for maintenance work.
ILWU Canada vice-president Pat Bolen told the crowd the collective agreement lays out "very clearly'' that anything to do with the movement of cargo on docks or ships is the jurisdiction of the union.
"Now what we're seeing is contractors that have no skin in the game, coming in and stealing our lunch. What happens when somebody steals your lunch? You get angry," he said.
"We've stood up and said enough is enough. This is where the line in the sand is drawn. We want our jurisdiction. We want to be cost effective, we want to be efficient, but we need to have it.''
Bolen said while the union can't prevent automation from being used at the ports, it should fall to union members to make repairs if robots break.
The BCMEA has accused the union of trying to "aggressively expand'' its control of maintenance duties far beyond what the association says has been established for decades.
ILWU International president Willie Adams encouraged workers from around the world to meet ships coming to their docks and let them know that workers are united with Canadian strikers.
"They think they can take the ships to Tacoma, Seattle, Oakland, L.A. — ain't happening, ain't happening,'' he said to loud cheers.
Adams told CNBC last week that members from his U.S. west coast chapter of the union will not be unloading Canadian-bound cargo in solidarity with striking workers in Canada.
The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters industry group has estimated the movement of $500 million worth of goods is being disrupted every day the strike continues.
Business organizations and some politicians have called for the federal government to bring in back-to-work legislation — an idea the union has rejected.