Vancouver—Canada’s labour minister has notified both sides in a contract dispute at British Columbia ports that he has asked a senior mediator for a recommended settlement to end the strike as it approaches its third week.According to the BC Maritime Employers Association, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan sent notification Tuesday afternoon he has given mediators 24 hours to come up with the recommendation.“After 10 weeks of mediation, and two weeks of a strike that is paralyzing Canadian exports and imports,” O’Regan wrote, “I have asked the senior federal mediator to supply me with terms of a recommended settlement pursuant to subsection 105(2) of the Canada Labour Code.”The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada has been on strike since July 1 after talks with the employers’ association failed to come to agreement on a new contract. Wages, automation and contracting out of work are the major sticking points in the dispute. The union represents 7,400 workers at more than 30 terminals across the province, representing the vast amount of terminals in B.C. and a large chunk of Canada’s international trade. Business groups have been asking the government to impose binding arbitration to get the ports moving again, warning of potential layoffs and other hardships throughout the country. In a statement Wednesday morning, Canadian Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Perrin Beatty welcomed the news of Ottawa’s potential involvement to force a deal on the two sides.“We have been calling for immediate intervention from the federal government and urge them to ensure they pursue a course of action that brings an end to this strike as swiftly as possible, preventing further impacts on Canadian families, Canadian businesses and the Canadian economy,” Beatty said. But the union and its supporters have said any imposition of a deal by government would be hypocritical. Jim Stanford, economist with the Centre for Future Work, released a study Tuesday commissioned by the union showing the employers have been harvesting major profits while wages have only increased marginally. “The federal government would not intervene to impose contract terms on the companies, protecting Canadians from cost and disruption,” Stanford wrote. “It is sheer hypocrisy to now argue that government should force longshore workers (trying to protect themselves against the same greed) back to work.”Once recommendations are received, the union and employers will have 24 hours to review them and respond with their willingness to recommend ratification.Jeremy Nuttall is a Vancouver-based business reporter for the Star.
Vancouver—Canada’s labour minister has notified both sides in a contract dispute at British Columbia ports that he has asked a senior mediator for a recommended settlement to end the strike as it approaches its third week.
According to the BC Maritime Employers Association, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan sent notification Tuesday afternoon he has given mediators 24 hours to come up with the recommendation.
“After 10 weeks of mediation, and two weeks of a strike that is paralyzing Canadian exports and imports,” O’Regan wrote, “I have asked the senior federal mediator to supply me with terms of a recommended settlement pursuant to subsection 105(2) of the Canada Labour Code.”
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada has been on strike since July 1 after talks with the employers’ association failed to come to agreement on a new contract. Wages, automation and contracting out of work are the major sticking points in the dispute.
The union represents 7,400 workers at more than 30 terminals across the province, representing the vast amount of terminals in B.C. and a large chunk of Canada’s international trade.
Business groups have been asking the government to impose binding arbitration to get the ports moving again, warning of potential layoffs and other hardships throughout the country.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Canadian Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Perrin Beatty welcomed the news of Ottawa’s potential involvement to force a deal on the two sides.
“We have been calling for immediate intervention from the federal government and urge them to ensure they pursue a course of action that brings an end to this strike as swiftly as possible, preventing further impacts on Canadian families, Canadian businesses and the Canadian economy,” Beatty said.
But the union and its supporters have said any imposition of a deal by government would be hypocritical.
Jim Stanford, economist with the Centre for Future Work, released a study Tuesday commissioned by the union showing the employers have been harvesting major profits while wages have only increased marginally.
“The federal government would not intervene to impose contract terms on the companies, protecting Canadians from cost and disruption,” Stanford wrote. “It is sheer hypocrisy to now argue that government should force longshore workers (trying to protect themselves against the same greed) back to work.”
Once recommendations are received, the union and employers will have 24 hours to review them and respond with their willingness to recommend ratification.
Jeremy Nuttall is a Vancouver-based business reporter for the Star.
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