The Canadian union representing port workers in Vancouver has postponed delivering a 72-hour strike notice in order to participate in federal mediation with employers. Local 514 of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada, representing about 730 ship and dock forepersons, acquired the right to go on strike after contract talks with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) reached an impasse earlier this month. The workers’ contract expired in March 2023 and talks on a new one failed last year and again in January. A 21-day cooling-off period concluded on May 10, giving the union the right to strike and the employers association the right to lock out the workers. However, neither side can take action until a strike or lockout vote has been taken and a 72-hour strike notice has been provided. The BCMEA filed a formal complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) last week, which had to step in last year in another dispute. In its statement, BCMEA said that their latest offer, which includes a compounded wage increase of 19.2% over four years, was generous and accused ILWU Local 514 of protracting negotiations and “putting Canada’s supply chain and global trade reputation at further risk”. ILWU Local 514 said Wednesday it had been doing “everything it can to avoid potential job action”, including not serving strike notice on employer DP World Canada, but that the BCMEA has deliberately been misleading and bargaining in the media. ILWU Local 514 president Frank Morena said the union wants to bargain directly with DP World, but the company is refusing to bargain and attempting to have the BCMEA do it instead, leading to an impasse. “Let’s be clear, it was the BCMEA that broke off talks”, he said, adding that the BCMEA involvement was not only unhelpful but provocative and that union members voted 100% to take strike action if needed. The BCMEA and ILWU Canada locked horns over a separate collective agreement in 2023, leading to a strike by the union in July. This industrial action froze billions of dollars worth of cargo from moving in and out of ports, including at Canada’s busiest, Vancouver. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsCanada