Canada orders binding arbitration to end port lockout | News about workers’ rights

The exclusions affect $930 million worth of goods every day, impacting supply chains and the local economy, the government says.

Canada’s Labor Minister is stepping in to end the lockout of workers at the country’s two largest ports.

Labor Minister Steven Mackinnon said Tuesday that negotiations had reached an impasse and he ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations at the ports of Vancouver and Montreal and move the talks to binding arbitration.

Workers at the Port of Montreal were locked out on Sunday and workers in Vancouver on the Pacific coast have been locked out since Nov. 4.

“There is a limit to the economic self-destruction that Canadians are willing to accept,” MacKinnon said. “In the face of economic self-destruction, there is an obligation to intervene. As Minister of Labor, that responsibility lies with me.”

MacKinnon said 1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($930 million) worth of goods are affected every day. He said this impacted supply chains, the economy and Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.

Business groups have called for government intervention to restart the flow of goods.

MacKinnon says he hopes operations can be restored within days.

The Maritime Employers Association locked out 1,200 longshoremen at the Port of Montreal on Sunday after workers voted to reject what employers called a final contract offer. The workers demanded a 20 percent increase over four years.

The action came after dockworkers in British Columbia were locked out of a labor dispute involving more than 700 longshore supervisors, resulting in a paralysis of container freight traffic at West Coast terminals.

Forced to intervene

It was the second time in a few months that the Liberal government intervened to end a dispute. In August, it ordered an end to work stoppages at the country’s two largest railway companies.

The left-wing government has previously expressed its preference for resolving labor disputes through collective bargaining. MacKinnon said he was forced to intervene after federal mediators reported talks in Montreal and Vancouver had reached an impasse.

The left-wing opposition New Democrats, a pro-union party that supports the minority Liberal government, accused Ottawa of pandering to employers.

“Back-to-work orders are suppressing wages for all Canadians, making billionaires richer and leaving the rest of Canadians further behind,” Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement, but made no mention of withdrawing support from the Liberals .

The Teamsters union, which represents workers at the two major railroads involved in a labor dispute in August, has filed lawsuits challenging labor board rulings that forced them to return to work.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Labor Congress said in a statement: “The government is sending a dangerous message: employers can bypass meaningful negotiations, lock out their workers and wait for political intervention to secure a more favorable agreement.”