ILWU Canada Longshore Caucus Votes Down Settlement; Strike Resumes

The rejection of a settlement led to a short-lived resumption of a strike by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada at Canadian West Coast ports, but the strike is again on hold after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled the strike illegal and ILWU Canada issued a 72-hour notice that the strike will begin again July 22.

ILWU Canada's Longshore Caucus voted against a settlement with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association on July 18, the labor union said in a statement, and dockworkers initially began striking again that afternoon at 4:30 p.m. local time. The strike had been on hold since July 13 while the labor union considered settlement terms from Canadian Minister of Labour Seamus O'Regan (see 2307130038). O'Regan was asked to intervene on July 11 to end the strike. ILWU Canada had initially given a 72-hour notice on June 28, with the strike beginning July 1 (see 2306290038). The contract between the two parties expired March 31.

The BCMEA challenged the resumption of the strike June 18 with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which ruled that ILWU Canada was in violation of the Canada Labour Code and needed to "cease and desist its illegal strike action effective immediately," the BCMEA said in a statement the following day.

In a July 18 statement, the BCMEA said that by rejecting the tentative agreement, ILWU Canada leadership is "choosing to further harm Canada’s economy, international reputation and most importantly, to Canadians, their livelihoods and all those that rely on a stable supply chain." The proposed four-year deal "included considerable hikes in wages and benefits over and above the ~10% increase received over the past three years, and generally above the established norm of recent private and public sector union settlements in British Columbia and Canada," the statement said.

The settlement also included "specific provisions that addressed the union’s concern regarding 'contracting out' work and measures to improve training, recruitment and retention of ILWU" workers now and in the future, the statement said. The BCMEA also agreed to "provide benefit coverage for all casual trades workers, a tool allowance, and a commitment to increase apprentices in the industry by 15%," the statement said. "Clearly this fair and equitable package wasn’t enough for the ILWU internal leadership, and they chose to instead remain entrenched in their position with little regard to the lives and jobs they are impacting."

"The ILWU Canada Longshore Caucus does not believe the recommendations had the ability to protect our jobs now or into the future," ILWU Canada President Rob Ashton said in the statement announcing the rejection of the settlement. "Our position since day one has been to protect our jurisdiction and this position has not changed," ILWU Canada said. "With the record profits that the BCMEA’s member companies have earned over the last few years the employers have not addressed the cost of living issues that our workers have faced over the last couple of years as all workers have."

The ILWU confirmed the CIRB ruling and the reissuance of their strike notice in a statement on July 19. "Although the ILWU removed its picket lines voluntarily while it considered the tentative agreement, the BCMEA decided to exploit our good faith move by complaining to the CIRB that" ILWU Canada "has commenced a new strike for which 72 hours notice was required," the statement said. ILWU Canada will appeal the CIRB decision but said that they "will respect the ruling and reissue notice," the statement said.

"The ILWU regrets the economic impact of this labour dispute and that government interference such as the CIRB order will only serve to lengthen the strike," the statement said. "We once again ask the government to allow free collective bargaining to occur and allow the longshore workers to use the options allowed by the Canada Labour Code."

The BCMEA said. "The re-issuance of strike notice shows that we will be facing a repeat of actions by the ILWU Leadership that will continue to grind operations to a halt at Canada’s largest ports," the statement said. "It is time to restore stability to Canada’s largest trading gateway. In an affordability crisis, Canadians and those that rely on our goods and exports cannot afford to wait any longer."

The CIRB did not immediately comment.