B.C. port employers, foremen's union return to negotiation table with mediator

A gantry crane operator removes a container from a cargo ship while docked at port, in Vancouver, B.C., July 16. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

Employers and the union representing foremen at British Columbia's ports will return to the negotiating table next week with a mediator in the latest push for a resolution in the labour dispute.

The BC Maritime Employers Association says in a statement that it will meet Oct. 29 with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, which represents about 700 port foremen.

The statement says the negotiation session could be extended to Oct. 30 and 31 if necessary.

The last agreement between the two sides expired in March 2023, and the union said in September that members had voted 96 per cent in favour of authorizing strike action if necessary.

No job action has taken place, and no notices of strike or lockout have been issued.

Earlier this week, the Canada Industrial Relations Board issued a ruling on complaints from both sides accusing each other of negotiating in bad faith, dismissing the union's claims, while partly agreeing with the employer on its complaint.

The union claimed one employer, DP World, refused to engage on the issue of manpower requirements linked to port automation, but the board says in its decision that workers' demands "were not presented in the context of collective bargaining or as a bargaining proposal."

The decision acknowledges that "DP World’s approach of engaging in discussions … may not be conducive to harmonious labour relations" but adds there was "no legal requirement" that the company should have acted otherwise.

The board's ruling also granted the employers' complaint against the union of bad faith bargaining "in part," specifically involving a manpower and pay proposal that was presented in April.

The union says negotiations since last year have failed to deliver a new deal.

Word of more negotiations comes with the backdrop of several recent disruptions at Vancouver's port.

In September, grain terminal workers set up pickets at six Metro Vancouver grain terminals before a deal was reached days later.

In August, work stoppages at both major Canadian railways disrupted port operations and West Coast Express commuter rail service.

In 2023, thousands of workers in a separate dispute at B.C.'s ports shut down most operations for 13 days and froze billions in trade at the docks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2024.