New settlement reached in BC ports strike

After a busy weekend, a new deal has been reached between the International Longshore and Warehouse Canada (ILWU) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA).

Both parties are recommending ratification of the negotiated collective agreement to the union’s membership and member employers respectively.

The deal was negotiated with the assistance of the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

On Friday, IWLU members voted down the agreement that had been negotiated on July 13th to end a strike by 7,400 members of the union at 30 BC ports, including Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

The BCMEA said the rejected deal included a four-year package with a wage increase of 19.2 percent. “This would have potentially increased the median union longshore compensation from $136,000 to $162,000 annually, not including benefits and pension. Over the course of the past 13 years, longshore wages have risen by 40 percent, ahead of inflation at 30 percent,” the BCMEA said in a statement.

After the union rejected the deal, the federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan decided to use his authority under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to “preserve industrial peace” and directed the matter to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).

O’Regan has directed the CIRB to determine whether the union’s rejection of the tentative agreement has eliminated the possibility of a negotiated resolution. In that case, the Minister directed the board to either impose a new collective agreement or impose final binding arbitration to resolve outstanding terms of the collective agreement. 

Over the weekend the union and employers came to a negotiated agreement, avoiding the need to impose an agreement. Details are not available.

In announcing the CIRB would get involved, O’Regan said  “The state of uncertainty cannot continue. While our BC ports are operating right now, we need long term stability for the workers and businesses that depend on them.”

The union went on strike from July 1 to July 13.

After the strike action from July 1 to 13 had concluded with a tentative agreement between the ILWU Canada and the BCMEA, disruptions resumed on 18 July when ILWU Canada released a statement that their caucus had voted down the Canadian federal mediator’s recommended terms of settlement. This resulted in cargo operation shutdowns at the ports again on July 18 and 19.

A subsequent ruling by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) resulted in labour’s return to work on 19 July, followed by ILWU Canada issuing a new 72-hour notice of strike action effective 22 July 2023. The union then retracted the 72-hour notice.