Local time on June 28 at 8: 00 a.m., the international terminal and storage union Canada (International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, referred to as ILWU Canada) to the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) issued a 72-hour strike notice-workers will be in 2023 July 1, 8: 00 a.m. to start the strike.
The strike will affect about 7400 terminal stevedores and 49 employers and operators at more than 30 ports in British Columbia, including Canada's busiest port, Vancouver.
Canadian Federal Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan and Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra said in a joint statement that they support the collective bargaining process and urged both sides at the negotiating table to reach an agreement.
"Everyone-employers, unions, mediators and the government-understands the urgency and the stakes for Canadians and our supply chain."
"Both sides are responsible for moving goods domestically and internationally, and the industry and consumers will be affected by the shutdown."
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he was "very concerned about the strike's potential impact on our ports".
He said that throughout the epidemic, due to inflation and supply chain problems, British Columbia's costs have been rising, and the strike may increase costs, which residents cannot afford.
Since February this year, free collective bargaining between ILWU Canada and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) has been ongoing in an attempt to renew an industry-wide collective agreement that expires on March 31, 2023.
Both sides had previously been in a cooling-off period, but the cooling-off period ended on June 21, when union members by 99.24 percent voted in favor of this month's strike action.
The union said in a statement that outsourcing, port automation and living costs were key issues.
"During the epidemic, coast workers kept the province and country afloat, and when Canadians were told to take refuge in place, our people went to work."
"We work in difficult and dangerous conditions to ensure that our communities and all Canadians have the necessary supplies and personal protective equipment to protect against the new coronavirus."
The Maritime Employers Association (Maritime Employers Association) on Wednesday said in a statement that since the start of negotiations in March, it has "made in good faith a number of proposals and positions with the aim of making progress and reaching a fair deal at the negotiating table."
"While today's developments are regrettable, we remain prepared to re-engage with our labor partners through a federal mediation process, hoping to reach a fair and balanced agreement at the negotiating table to keep our ports stable and provide Canadians with cargo flows. We continue to be open to any solution that allows both sides to reach a balanced agreement."
Transportation Economist, Wengo Transportation Consulting Davies transportation Consulting Inc. Agreements between maritime employers and port workers are often long-term agreements that involve "quite hard bargaining," said Philip Davies, the head of the.
Davies said that if the talks were unsuccessful, apart from taking full-scale strike action to disrupt port operations, the union had several options.
"They may disrupt a terminal operation or they may not be able to send enough labor for a shift."
"Of course, the employer's response could be to shut the union out and close the docks, either of which could happen. It's a tactical and strategic game."
Source: one shipping