Canada’s labor tribunal on Sunday ruled that a strike vote by union longshore foremen against DP World’s terminal at the Port of Vancouver was illegal, heading off the maritime employer’s threat to shut out workers at Canada’s largest container gateway in response.
The British Columbia Maritime Employer’s Association (BCMEA) called on the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to hold a hearing on Sunday after Local 514 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada issued a 72-hour strike against DP World Centerm last Friday.
The CIRB found that Local 514 “failed to bargain in good faith when it conducted a strike vote among the employees of only one member employers of the BCMEA and issued a strike notice based on that strike vote.”
The strike vote came ahead of a CIRB hearing scheduled for August about a complaint the BCMEA filed against Local 514 alleging the union was “protracting negotiations” over a new contract. In the event the union prevailed at the CIRB, the BCMEA said it was prepared to issue a port-wide lockout that would have shut down all cargo operations, except grain and cruise ships.” Although both are part of the international union, ILWU Canada negotiates separately from the ILWU on the US West Coast.
Local 514, which represents about 700 union foremen, has been trying to negotiate separate staffing and work rules with DP World following the terminal operator’s installation of remotely operated rail-mounted gantry cranes at Centerm. But the BCMEA says that contravenes the coastwide agreement with all employers.
The cranes were part of an expansion project completed last year that increased Centerm’s container capacity 60% to 1.5 million TEUs per year.
“Bargaining on an industry basis fosters stability and certainty,” the BCMEA said in a statement Sunday. “In targeting DP World [Canada], ILWU Local 514 is unfairly isolating a single terminal operator to create uncertainty and chaos, while many industry-wide issues remain unresolved in our shared collective bargaining process.”
Local 514 did not respond to a request for comment.
Source:
Angell, M. (2024, July 8). ILWU Canada illegal strike ruling averts Vancouver shutdown. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/ilwu-canada-illegal-strike-ruling-averts-vancouver-shutdown_20240708.html