B.C. port workers' union issues new strike notice after Ottawa deems walkout illegal - The Globe and Mail

The union representing 7,400 B.C. port workers has issued 72-hour strike notice to take effect on Saturday, hours after federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said Tuesday’s new walkout is illegal.

Members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) halted their 13-day strike on July 13, but walked off the job again on Tuesday.

About 6,000 of the ILWU’s members are in the Vancouver region, 1,000 in the Prince Rupert area and the rest on Vancouver Island.

After Mr. O’Regan’s comments about the strike’s legality, employees in Prince Rupert and on Vancouver Island were expected to return to work for their night shifts on Wednesday. Employees in Vancouver were scheduled to start trickling back to work, starting with the graveyard shift that runs from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Thursday.

“The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) – an independent body created to keep industrial peace – this morning ruled that the ILWU Canada cease and desist from participating in any strike action because the union did not provide 72 hours notice,” Mr. O’Regan tweeted on Wednesday. “This strike is illegal.”

The BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents 49 private-sector companies such as shipowners and terminal operators, said hours after Mr. O’Regan’s tweet that the union is now in a legal position to go on strike on Saturday.

“The re-issuance of strike notice shows that we will be facing a repeat of actions by the ILWU leadership that will continue to grind operations to a halt,” the BCMEA said in a statement. “The economy, businesses, and Canadians cannot withstand another unnecessary and reckless labour disruption by ILWU.”

B.C. port workers resumed their strike on Tuesday instead of reporting for their scheduled night shifts after their union leadership rejected a tentative four-year deal announced last week.

The ILWU’s caucus that includes representatives of locals turned down the tentative pact that had been approved on July 13 by the union’s bargaining unit.

“The ILWU has followed Canadian labour law which holds that a strike continues from the moment of job action until the ratification of a collective agreement,” union president Rob Ashton said in a statement on Wednesday. “The CIRB, however, did not follow the established cases, and determined that new strike notice was required. The ILWU will appeal the CIRB decision but will respect the ruling and reissue notice.”

On Wednesday morning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would support federal legislation that forces strikers back to work, because the job action is affecting the entire country. He said it was a key focus of the recent meeting of Premiers at the Council of the Federation meeting last week in Winnipeg.

At a news conference in Ottawa, when asked if he would support the federal government legislating workers back to work, he replied: “100 per cent. That’s really up to them.”

He added that some retailers aren’t able to procure products such as barbecue parts as a result of the strike, and said that is why he supports local producers.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade estimates that the walkout resulted in the disruption of $9.9-billion worth of goods between the morning of July 1 and afternoon of July 13, based on a rate of $800-million a day.

The ILWU listed contracting out as one of its three main issues, along with cost-of-living wage increases and the impact of automation on job security.

Even before picket lines went back up on Tuesday, business groups warned that it could take until late September or even longer to fully clear the backlog of cargo that has been piling up since Canada Day.

The tentative four-year deal, which had been intended to end the strike, provides for wage hikes of 5 per cent in each of the first two years, followed by increases of 4 per cent in each of the final two years, according to two sources familiar with what the employers had hoped would be an acceptable pact.

That is a total of 18 per cent nominally, but works out to a compounded wage hike of 19.2 per cent over four years.

The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Under the recommended pact from the federal mediator, there is also a signing bonus and increases to a retirement fund, the two sources said.

The union sought a two-year agreement, while employers proposed a four-year deal.

At the bargaining table, the ILWU requested a wage raise of 11 per cent in the first year and 6 per cent in the second year, as well as an $8,000 signing bonus as an “inflation adjustment allowance,” the two sources said.

Under the mediated deal, the signing bonus would be about $3,000, depending on the hours worked in 2022.

The BCMEA proposed a four-year pact, including wage increases of 5 per cent in the first year, 3.5 per cent in the second year, 3 per cent in the third year and 2.5 per cent in the fourth year.

Under the mediated deal, the retirement fund designed to compensate employees for modernization and mechanization would be gradually increased, with the payout being 18.5 per cent higher in the fourth year, compared with now. Known as M&M payments, the fund earmarked for union members has grown over the years to the current lump-sum payout of $81,250, allowing a worker with at least 25 years of service to receive the payment within 30 days of retirement, according to the two sources.

With a report from Laura Stone

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2023-07-19 18:39:08Z
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