Business groups across Canada are calling for the federal government in Ottawa to intervene in the strike by British Columbia dockworkers that is now entering in its 10th day.
Unionized dockworkers walked off the job on July 1, effectively shutting down 30 ports along Canada’s west coast, including Vancouver, the country’s busiest shipping terminal.
By some estimates, more than $20 billion of international trade has either been stranded off the coast of British Columbia or rerouted for processing at ports along the U.S. west coast.
The B.C. Council of Forest Industries, and other business groups, is calling for federal intervention to end the strike and get port workers back on the job.
About 7,400 longshore workers voted in favour of strike action as they demand better wages and an end to the contracting out of work.
There have been no talks for nearly a week between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, which represents B.C. ports, and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union that represents the workers.
The federal government in Ottawa has, so far, refused to legislate the port employees back to work, instead encouraging both sides to use mediators and return to the bargaining table.
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