Striking port workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada gather at Jack Poole Plaza while attending a rally in Vancouver, on Sunday, July 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has given a federal mediator 24 hours to send him recommended terms to end the British Columbia port strike.
O’Regan says in a statement issued late Tuesday that the gap between the positions of employers and the port workers union in the 11-day-old strike is “not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage.”
He says once he gets the terms from the mediator, he’ll forward them to both sides and they’ll have another 24 hours to decide whether to ratify the principles of the deal.
About 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have been on strike since July 1, halting cargo in and out of about 30 ports in B.C., including Canada’s largest, the Port of Vancouver.
The workers say they’re fighting for protections against contracting out and automation, as well as pushing for higher wages.
O’Regan says a good deal is “within reach” for both the union and the BC Maritime Employers Association.
He says it’s in the interests of all sides that an agreement is reached as soon as possible.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2023.
