B.C. port employers to launch lockout at terminals as labour disruption begins

By Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press on November 4, 2024.

VANCOUVER – Employers at British Columbia ports say they are going ahead with locking out more than 700 foremen across the province after strike activities from union members began.

The BC Maritime Employers Association says the lockout will begin on the 4:30 p.m. shift and continue until further notice but will not affect grain or cruise operations.

The lockout action would shut port terminals operated by employers association members from Victoria and Vancouver, up to the Alaskan border.

The association says in a statement that its “difficult decision” to launch the lockout comes after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 commenced “industry-wide strike activity” at employers’ terminals.

Local 514 says in an email response that members “went to work” as normal at 8 a.m. but an overtime ban was implemented this morning.

A statement from the union on Sunday said employers have “grossly overreacted” to the union’s limited job action, which was aimed at restarting stalled talks that have been ongoing for almost two years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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