ILWU gives new strike notice, then rescinds it

After the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s (ILWU) pickets on Wednesday as illegal, ILWU Canada provided 72-hour notice of renewed strike action to the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and its member employers, effective July 22, 2023 at or about 09:00 am PT in British Columbia.

Then, during the evening of July 19 the union rescinded the notice, with no explanation.

This strike notice and potential strike action would have continued to affect 30 ports in BC, including Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

Prime minister Justin Trudeau has convened the federal incident response group which will discuss the ports strike. “The Prime Minister stressed the critical importance of resuming operations in our ports as soon as possible. Workers and employers across Canada – and all Canadians – cannot face further disruption. He asked ministers and senior officials their advice toward achieving this goal and directed them to pursue all available options to ensure the stability of our supply chains and to protect Canadian jobs and our economy,” said to a statement issued by the PM’s office.

Transport minister Omar Alghabra said his patience had run out when asked by a reporter about the strike on Wednesday. He said the federal government is exploring it options to end the disruptions.

In a joint statement Alghabra and labour minister Seamus O’Regan said: “We should not be here. The deal presented to the parties was the result of a constructive and substantive collective bargaining process. It represented a fair and balanced deal. It was informed by weeks of collective bargaining and drafted by third-party mediators in the interest of both the union and the employer.

We have been patient. We have respected the collective bargaining process. But we need our ports operating.”

The union’s executive rejected a tentative deal made on July 13th, without putting it to the members for a vote. The deal was made  through a proposed settlement provided by the senior federal mediator, pursuant to the Minister of Labour’s request under subsection 105 (2) of the Canada Labour Code.

According to the BCMEA the deal would allow ILWU workers to receive a compounded 19.2 percent wage increase over four years which would result in the median ILWU income moving from $136,000 to $162,000, not including benefits and pension. The proposed wage increase is well and above industry average standards.

The proposed deal also provides an 18.5 percent increase in their retirement lump sum payment in addition to their pension, increased tool allowances, benefits, and pension contributions.

The BCMEA called the labour action “reckless”. Following the with drawal lof the strike notice