An International Longshore and Warehouse Union worker pickets outside of the BC Maritime Employers Association Dispatch Centre after a 72-hour strike notice and no agreement made on the bargaining table in Vancouver, on Saturday, July 1, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
VANCOUVER – The association representing employers in an ongoing strike at British Columbia ports says it doesn’t think more bargaining is going to produce a collective agreement.
The BC Maritime Employers Association released a statement saying it has gone as far as possible on core issues.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, representing thousands of workers who load and unload cargo at terminals at more than 30 B.C. ports, went on strike on July 1.
Both sides were at the negotiation table as recently as this morning.
The association says it has advanced “reasonable proposals and positions in good faith” but says the union refuses to budge.
Union representatives could not immediately be reached for comment, but have previously accused the employers’ association of demanding “major concessions” despite amassing what it describes as record profits during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2023.
