British Columbia's dockworkers have voted 75% in favour of a new collective agreement, ending weeks of job actions at 30 ports across the province that had stranded billions of dollars worth of goods off Canada’s west coast.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU), which represents the workers, said the results of the ratification vote came in 74.66% in favour of the new labour deal.
The ILWU and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association, which represents the ports, jointly announced a tentative agreement on July 30.
Terms of the new contract, which covers 7,400 workers in B.C., have not been released publicly. The dockworkers were demanding higher wages and an end to the contracting out of work.
Industry group the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters estimated that job actions at B.C.’s seaports cost the Canadian economy $500 million a day in lost trade and productivity.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade estimated that $10.7 billion of trade was disrupted during strike actions that were taken by the dockworkers in July, including at the Port of Vancouver, which is Canada’s busiest shipping terminal.
