VANCOUVER — Labour experts tasked with studying a days-long labour dispute at British Columbia’s ports say the right to strike or be locked out should be preserved for the longshore industry in Canada.
Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers say laws should be changed to allow the government to bring in a special mediator during disputes, and workers should formalize negotiating collectively rather than allowing the union to have separate conversations with each operator.
Those are among seven recommendations made to the labour minister in a report released publicly this week.
Thousands of workers went on a 13-day in strike July, 2023, freezing the movement of billions of dollars worth of cargo at some of the country’s busiest ports.
The Industrial Inquiry Commission was appointed to do the report by the federal government following the strike, which saw many business groups calling for those workers to be made an essential service in order to keep the ports operational.
It concludes an essential-services model cannot work in the longshore industry without “severely undermining collective bargaining right.”
“There is no question that the level of acrimony between the parties has heightened tensions and polarized opinions on how to restore a sense of stability and predictability to labour relations in B.C. ports,” the report says.
“However, in the commission’s view, limiting or removing the right to strike is unlikely to achieve labour relations stability in B.C. ports and denying the parties a legal right to strike or lockout would do more harm than good, potentially fuelling illegal and unpredictable work stoppages.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025
Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press
