Port employers 'refusing to bargain,' cut off talks in less than an hour: Union

The union for locked-out port workers in British Columbia says the BC Maritime Employers Association cut off talks in less than an hour Saturday, refusing to budge on a final offer that the union has so far rejected.

A statement from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Ship & Dock Foremen Local 514 says a meeting with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service ended with the employers "refusing to bargain" and trying to "impose significant concessions" on the union.

ILWU Local 514 President Frank Morena says the employers are using "confrontational tactics" to avoid negotiating a new collective agreement, in order to force the federal government to intervene.

Morena says union negotiators were planning to bargain late into Saturday evening and through the weekend with the help of a federal mediator, but he says the employers association ended the talks after meeting with the mediator for just 12 minutes.

He says the concessions sought by port employers are "inflammatory and unacceptable," and says shipping firms and retailers are all waiting for the lockout to end.

A statement from the employers association issued Saturday after talks broke down says there was "no progress made ... and no further meetings are scheduled."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.