Canada Industrial Relations Board deems port strike vote illegal

The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) says a strike vote taken by a union representing ship and dock foremen is illegal.

The B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) said Friday that Local 514 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) had served a notice of intended strike action against DP World Canada that was set to begin on Monday at 4:30 p.m. PT.

In a statement just after 1 p.m. on Sunday, the CIRB determined the union did not bargain in good faith.

The board found that employees of only one of the BCMEA's member companies were asked to vote on the strike. It has directed the union to take back its strike notice.

Threats of a lockout

Previously, the employers' association threatened to take defensive action against a strike in the form of an industry-wide lockout.

The BCMEA said in a news release that it issued formal notice to ILWU Local 514 of its intention to defensively lock out all of the union's members on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. PT.

"This coastwide lockout, should it be required, will shut down all cargo operations of BCMEA member companies across the province, but will not affect cruise operations nor interrupt longshoring operations on grain vessels," the association said.

It called on the union local to withdraw its strike notice and let the dispute process conclude at the CIRB.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan confirmed the strike and lockout notices in a social media post on Saturday.

"Federal mediators are working with the parties to help them reach a deal, and the best deals are made at the bargaining table," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The ILWU said in a statement last month that 99 per cent of the nearly 600 longshore foremen who voted were against a "final offer" from the employers' association.

Local 514 president Frank Morena said at the time that DP World Canada told the union in December it would unilaterally introduce some automation at its rail intermodal yard at the Centerm port in Vancouver.

The union said there were other unresolved issues as well, such as improvements to retirement benefits and certain allowances.

An update from the Port of Vancouver posted on Sunday said the job action would have included a ban against overtime and an end to certain duties, including training and manual development.

CBC News has reached out to the union and DP World Canada for this story.

Labour professor says employers 'combative'

John-Henry Harter, a lecturer in labour studies at Simon Fraser University, said the BCMEA was "speaking out of both sides of their mouth" by decrying the impact of a possible strike while also threatening a lockout.

"I find [the BCMEA] really combative and intransigent in a lot of ways," he told CBC News, "while at the same time trying to make the union, trying to make the workers, look like the bad guys."

Harter said the 13-day strike at B.C.'s ports last year — which involved different union members under the ILWU umbrella — was eventually resolved at the bargaining table, and he hopes for a similar outcome in the latest job dispute.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said job disruptions at B.C.'s ports would hamper the Canadian economy and limit the country's reliability as a place to do business.

Dan Kelly, CFIB president, is calling for legislation that would designate port work as essential, meaning ports would need to remain staffed during labour disputes.

"We can't keep doing this as a nation," he said, adding that port strikes "have been just happening so regularly and the economic damage is so significant."

A spokesperson for the Port of Vancouver said while they couldn't speculate on what the specific impact of a strike or lockout would be, any job disruption would have a significant impact globally.