12 July 2023 (Lloyd's List) - CANADA’S labour secretary Seamus O’Regan Jr has instructed federal mediators to formulate settlement terms and usher an end to the strike in Canada’s west coast ports, which employers say has disrupted billions of dollars in trade.
O’Regan, who has stated on several occasions that labour deals are best reached at the bargaining table, said the differences between the parties are too small to warrant continuing work stoppages.
“As a result of the hard work by the parties at the bargaining table, there is a good deal within reach — one that would work for both the employer and the union,” O’Regan said in a statement via twitter.
“I immediately asked that the senior federal mediator send a written recommendation of the terms of settlement to me within 24 hours. Once I have received the terms of settlement, I will forward them to the parties and they will have 24 hours to decide whether or not to recommend ratification of the terms to their principals.”
The move comes amid growing calls by business groups and politicians for forceful government intervention and as boxships back-ups are growing in British Columbia’s anchorages.
Dockworkers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have been striking since July 1 in key ports like Vancouver and Prince Rupert, after the parties failed to reach an agreement over jurisdiction, wages, and automation.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, which represents the employers in the talks, said on Monday that the movement of an estimated C$8.6bn ($6.5bn) of cargo has been disrupted.
Citing the Royal Bank of Canada, the association estimated that about 63,000 shipping containers are currently impacted. Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows more than a dozen vessels are idling in anchorages off Canada’s west coast, and 13 more are slated to arrive in the next few days, the BCMEA warned.
Some carriers have been updating vessel rotations and diverting cargo to the US west coast, but ILWU International president Willie Adams said that US dockworkers would not unload any Canada-bound cargo in solidarity with their Canadian counterparts.
Hapag-Lloyd advised customers who have booked cargo that has not yet shipped to seek alternative routings.
The BCMEA accused the union’s leadership of “banding together” with their US counterparts and “further damaging the reliability and competitiveness” of west coast ports in the US and Canada.
The parties met on Saturday for the first time after talks broke down in the past week over the issue of maintenance work jurisdiction. In a statement released before O’Regan’s announcement, the BCMEA said it had made several concessions on the issue, but that the union rejected its proposals and continued to purse jurisdictional expansion.
Citing the importance of the ILWU-BCMEA relationship to the Canadian economy and national interest, O’Regan said: “We cannot allow this work stoppage to persist and risk further damage to the relationship between these parties.
“The BCMEA and the ILWU have worked long and hard to negotiate a deal. It is in the interest of everyone — the employer, the union and all Canadians — that they agree to that deal as soon as possible.”
Both the BCMEA and the ILWU received a letter from O'Regan Monday stating his decision, the BCMEA said.
