Gantry cranes sit idle as a container ship is docked at port during a work stoppage, in Vancouver, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to determine if a negotiated resolution in the British Columbia port dispute is still possible and put an end to the situation if an agreement is out of reach.
O’Regan issued a statement saying the board has been directed to impose a new collective agreement or final binding arbitration on both the port workers and their employers if a negotiated resolution is determined to be impossible.
This is the second time the board will weigh in on the months-long dispute between International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association.
On July 19, the board ruled a brief return to picket lines by port workers the day before – after union leadership rejected a tentative deal drafted by a federal mediator – was illegal without sufficient notice, bringing an end to the work stoppage.
Previously, the dispute between the union representing about 7,400 workers and maritime employers resulted in a strike from July 1 to 13 before news of a tentative deal ended that job action.
On Friday night, the union announced it had rejected the tentative deal a second time after bringing it to a full-membership vote.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2023.
