Port employers in BC launch terminal lockout amid labor dispute with employees

VANCOUVER – Employers have locked out more than 700 union workers in the latest development in a labor dispute that the union says will close all ports in British Columbia until further notice.

The BC Maritime Employers Association said Monday its “difficult decision” to impose the lockout came after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 began “industry-wide strike activity” at employers’ terminals.

The employers’ association said in a press release that the lockout in response to the strike action would begin at the 4.30pm shift on Monday and continue until further notice, but would not affect grain or cruise operations.

“ILWU Local 514’s strike action has already begun to impact operations on B.C.’s waterfront and strike activity could easily escalate, including a complete withdrawal of labor without notice,” the employers said in explaining their decision to expel union members to close.

Local 514 said in an email response that members normally went to work at 8 a.m. Monday, but an overtime ban was implemented and employees “refused to participate in technological changes as their limited action at work.”

A union statement on Monday in response to the lockout said employers “deliberately and irresponsibly overreacted” to the overtime ban, which was intended to restart stalled talks that have been going on for nearly two years to take.

Local 514 President Frank Morena said in the statement that the exclusion of the employers is a “clear attempt to force the federal government to intervene.”

Speaking in parliament, federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon reiterated that he had spoken to both employers and the union over the weekend and urged them to find a solution.

“It’s their responsibility and they have to do the work necessary to reach an agreement,” MacKinnon said.

The minister’s comments come after questions from NDP MP Matthew Green.

“This blatant attempt to manipulate this Liberal government to undermine workers’ rights is an outrageous attack on free collective bargaining,” Green said in parliament.

However, the employers’ association said the only reason the lockout was triggered was because of strike action by the union.

Morena said the union’s negotiators are “ready to resume talks as soon as the BCMEA is released.”

The two sides met last week for mediated talks, and Local 514 has accused employers of not showing up on the last day of the scheduled talks on Thursday.

“Our union members have been trying since our contract expired on March 31, 2023 to reach a new collective agreement and have been more than patient in the face of the BCMEA provocation, which continues today with a full lockout,” Morena said in a statement. Monday.

The union released its job action announcement last Thursday in response to a “final offer” presented by employers a day earlier. An offer that, according to the association, would result in a pay increase of 19.2 percent over a four-year agreement that expires in 2027.

“The BCMEA’s latest offer to the union represents our best effort to resolve the dispute and move forward with an agreement that recognizes the skills and efforts of 730 hardworking foremen and their families, while ensuring that Canada’s ports remain reliable and stable on the west coast for the many customers and chain partners who do business there,” the association said at the time.

The association also said the offer would include a 16 percent increase in retirement benefits, additional recognized vacation days and an average lump sum of $21,000 for eligible employees, including back wages since the contract expired.

“Despite ILWU Local 514’s regrettable decision to destabilize Canada’s supply chain, BCMEA’s expanded offer remains open until withdrawn,” the employers’ organization said Monday.

In its response Sunday, the union said the employers’ proposal failed to address one of the key concerns for workers: a staffing need related to the implementation of port automation at facilities such as DP World’s Centrem container terminal in Vancouver .

Local 514 said employers “have demanded that the union agree to waive technological change provisions in the Canada Labor Code that apply to all federally unionized employees in any new contract,” a demand that Morena “ridiculous”.

“The idea that our union is opting out of provisions of the Canadian Labor Code that protect not only ILWU Local 514, but all Canadian workers is absolutely outrageous,” Morena said in the statement Sunday.

Morena also said employers told the union they would scrap parts of the existing collective agreement – ​​including retroactive pay and social and other benefit improvements – if the union did not accept the final offer presented on Wednesday.

In response to Morena’s comments, the employers disputed a number of points raised by the union leader.

The association said its final offer not only matched a deal reached last year with longshore workers to end a dispute that included a 13-day freeze on B.C. ports, but also included “additional elements” specifically for Local 514 members.

“The BCMEA does not require any concessions from the union in our final offer, nor does the final offer eliminate anything from the existing collective agreement,” the employers said.

The labor disruption at Vancouver, Canada’s largest port, has raised concerns among both political and business leaders.

In a joint written statement, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen called on the federal government to “urgently intervene with binding arbitration” in future disputes, while also “advancing its strategy for managing labor relations” in federally regulated transportation sectors to improve.

“These ports export approximately $50 million worth of Alberta’s key commodities every day, including agricultural, energy and manufacturing-related products,” the statement said. “An extended work stoppage will disrupt the movement of these products, backlog other transportation networks such as rail and trucking, and damage the economies of Alberta and Canada.”

Chemistry Industry Association of Canada president Bob Masterson said in a statement that “this level of uncertainty further challenges Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner,” while Fertilizer Canada urged the government to make changes to the legislation that oblige the provision of services to continue during strikes or lockouts in longshoring. .

“We are once again about to lose access to a crucial trade corridor,” Karen Proud, president of Fertilizer Canada, said in the statement, noting that there were disruptions earlier this year when both major Canadian railways were closed due to labor disputes.

“Potassium fertilizer will be one of the hardest hit commodities,” she said. “We are asking both the BC Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada to find a solution and prevent a catastrophic closure.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press