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Lockout continues as labor negotiations at BC ports fail

Umito November 12, 2024

Unlike the lockout that halted container imports on Canada’s west coast, contract negotiations over the weekend between British Columbia’s maritime employers and their longshore union ended almost before they began .

The British Columbia Maritime Employers’ Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 met separately Saturday with a federal mediator in an effort to resolve a contract dispute involving 700 union supervisors at Vancouver’s ports and Prince Rupert.

Vancouver is Canada’s main gateway for containerized imports.

“(Saturday) evening, the BCMEA and ILWU Local 514 met with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in Vancouver,” the employers posted on their website. “The parties have met separately with the FMCS and, based on the discussions that have taken place, no progress has been made. On this basis, the FMCS has concluded the mediation and no further meetings are planned.

On November 4, container lines and terminal operators represented by the BCMEA locked out 700 foremen represented by ILWU Local 514 after the union rejected the employer’s final contract offer .

Longshore foremen, also called roving bosses, supervise other workers and manage loading operations at port facilities. Besides wages and other contractual issues, the union balks at the introduction of automation in port operations.

The lockout has blocked an estimated $800 million in trade passing through British Columbia ports each day and comes at the same time as a strike of unionized dockers at the Port of Montreal, the second largest container hub in Canada.

While carriers initially had their ships wait at anchor, liner operators are expected to divert service to Seattle-Tacoma and other West Coast ports as the shutdown continues.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

A lockout threatens in the labor dispute at the Port of Montreal

East Coast Port Contract Negotiations Resume

Lockout blocks more container ships outside Western Canadian ports