Unlike the lockout that halted container imports on Canada’s west coast, the contract talks taking place this weekend between maritime employers in British Columbia and their port union were almost over before they started.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 met separately Saturday with a federal mediator in an effort to resolve a contract dispute involving 700 union leaders at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert.
Vancouver is Canada’s main gateway for containerized imports.
“[Saturday] In the evening, the BCMEA and ILWU Local 514 met with assistance from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in Vancouver,” the employers posted on their website. “The parties met separately with the FMCS and based on the discussions that took place, no progress was made. Based on this, the FMCS has completed the mediation and no further meetings are planned.”
Container lines and terminal operators represented by the BCMEA locked out 700 foremen represented by ILWU Local 514 on Nov. 4 after the union rejected the employers’ final contract offer.
Longshore foremen, also called walking bosses, supervise other employees and manage loading operations at port facilities. In addition to wage and other contract issues, the union has expressed resistance to the introduction of automation in port operations.
The lockout has halted an estimated $800 million worth of trade flowing through British Columbia’s ports every day, and comes at the same time as a strike by union dockworkers at the Port of Montreal, Canada’s second-busiest container hub.
While carriers initially kept their ships waiting at anchor, liners are expected to divert services to Seattle-Tacoma and other West Coast ports as the disruption continues.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
Related coverage:
Exclusion looms in the labor dispute at the Port of Montreal
Talks on port contracts on the East Coast are resuming
Lockout blocks more container ships outside Western Canada ports
The post Lockout continues as British Columbia port labor talks fall apart appeared first on FreightWaves.
