Dockworkers in British Columbia have called off plans to return to the picket lines on July 22 after they rejected a mediated labour agreement.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, which represents more than 7,000 dockworkers throughout B.C., had been planning to resume strike action on July 22 after turning down a new collective agreement that had been brokered by a federal mediator.
But now, the union has canceled those plans after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a crisis meeting to pursue all options to ensure ongoing operations at Canada’s west coast ports.
“Effective immediately the strike notice dated July 22 for 9:00 a.m. has been removed,” said the Longshore and Warehouse Union in a post on its website.
The dockworkers throughout B.C. had resumed strike action on July 18 after turning down a new collective agreement that had been brokered by a federal mediator.
However, federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan quickly intervened and declared the renewed strike illegal as the union failed to provide 72-hour advance notice as required by law.
The union subsequently gave strike notice with plans to resume job actions on July 22, prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, which represents the ports in the province, had called the union’s plan to resume strike action “reckless.”
The previous 13-day strike by dockworkers shutdown 30 ports across British Columbia, including in Prince Rupert and Vancouver, which is Canada’s busiest seaport and a gateway to trade with Asia.
The first strike left billions of dollars in goods stranded off Canada’s west coast and is expected to hurt the Canadian economy for several months.
The dockworkers have been negotiating for better pay and an end to the contracting out of work at B.C. ports.
