The leaders of the country's labour groups cautioned the prime minister against using emergency legislation back to work legislation to end a 12-day-long strike at a British Columbia ports. .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the government had issued back-to-work legislation to resolve a strike at the Port of Montréal after five days..“Legislation would be a serious misstep and would be met with strong resistance from the entire labour movement,” said the petition jointly signed by Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske and her provincial and territorial counterparts. .Back-to-work legislation “tramples on every Canadians’ Charter right to freedom of association,” said the petition..“The union is still at the table and remains committed to the federal mediation process, ready to get a deal done. We urge your government to allow the parties to finish bargaining the outstanding issues in good faith.”.The Labour Congress released a petition shortly after the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) stated that the strike had caused problems for most of its members, around 53%..“Unless the parties negotiate a deal immediately through collective bargaining, the Federation is urging the federal government to enact back-to-work legislation so businesses are not unfairly punished,” said the CFIB in a statement..The last time Parliament passed a law to stop a strike by BC port workers was in 1995. Before that, in 1972, a strike was ended after 21 days by legislation. Parliament is on a summer break and will sit again on September 18..The CFIB said it collected “hundreds of examples” of disruptions, including “a specialty beverage producer in British Columbia waiting on a critical shipment of 48,000 glass bottles stuck at the port,” “a retailer in Ontario waiting on a shipment of footwear and clothes” and “a construction business in Alberta experiencing delays in steel deliveries.”.The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which has 7,000 members, said they asked for better conditions from employers who “have seen profits explode” since 2020..“Over the last two years alone, major BC terminal operators increased charges for standard services by 25% or more, far faster than general inflation,” said the Union in a statement..“The Union asked to review their financial statements prior to bargaining, but the employers refused,” said the Union. .Member companies in the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) had combined profits of more than $100 billion last year, “up 1500% since 2019,” said the Union..“The employers claim longshore workers are greedy and resistant to change and must be forced back to work through legislation to protect the national economy,” said the Union. .“This argument has it exactly backwards.”.The BCMEA said that the economic losses were $800 million per day, but they did not give any details about how they came up with that number. .The strike had “potentially disrupted $7.5 billion of cargo,” said the BCMEA in a statement..“To add to this, British Columbia is entering a key season for agri-food exports,” said the BCMEA. .“Not only have the imports of materials for expansion, repairs, upgrades and alternative fertilizers for greenhouse growers been impacted, possibly compromising crop quality, but harvest season for major fruit exports has just begun for global markets.”.The Port of Vancouver is the biggest in Canada. In 2021, the government passed a law to stop a longshore strike at the Port of Montréal after five days. During the strike, ships carrying goods had to go to Halifax, Saint John, and Hamilton instead, which caused a one-week delay in deliveries..“The most concerning problem is reputational damage that the strike has on Canada’s image as a reliable trading partner,” said a 2021 labour department memo Backgrounder on the Cumulative Impact of a Work Stoppage at the Port of Montréal..“If major Canadian ports are not viewed as reliable, it will become more difficult to attract private investment.”
The leaders of the country's labour groups cautioned the prime minister against using emergency legislation back to work legislation to end a 12-day-long strike at a British Columbia ports. .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the government had issued back-to-work legislation to resolve a strike at the Port of Montréal after five days..“Legislation would be a serious misstep and would be met with strong resistance from the entire labour movement,” said the petition jointly signed by Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske and her provincial and territorial counterparts. .Back-to-work legislation “tramples on every Canadians’ Charter right to freedom of association,” said the petition..“The union is still at the table and remains committed to the federal mediation process, ready to get a deal done. We urge your government to allow the parties to finish bargaining the outstanding issues in good faith.”.The Labour Congress released a petition shortly after the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) stated that the strike had caused problems for most of its members, around 53%..“Unless the parties negotiate a deal immediately through collective bargaining, the Federation is urging the federal government to enact back-to-work legislation so businesses are not unfairly punished,” said the CFIB in a statement..The last time Parliament passed a law to stop a strike by BC port workers was in 1995. Before that, in 1972, a strike was ended after 21 days by legislation. Parliament is on a summer break and will sit again on September 18..The CFIB said it collected “hundreds of examples” of disruptions, including “a specialty beverage producer in British Columbia waiting on a critical shipment of 48,000 glass bottles stuck at the port,” “a retailer in Ontario waiting on a shipment of footwear and clothes” and “a construction business in Alberta experiencing delays in steel deliveries.”.The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which has 7,000 members, said they asked for better conditions from employers who “have seen profits explode” since 2020..“Over the last two years alone, major BC terminal operators increased charges for standard services by 25% or more, far faster than general inflation,” said the Union in a statement..“The Union asked to review their financial statements prior to bargaining, but the employers refused,” said the Union. .Member companies in the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) had combined profits of more than $100 billion last year, “up 1500% since 2019,” said the Union..“The employers claim longshore workers are greedy and resistant to change and must be forced back to work through legislation to protect the national economy,” said the Union. .“This argument has it exactly backwards.”.The BCMEA said that the economic losses were $800 million per day, but they did not give any details about how they came up with that number. .The strike had “potentially disrupted $7.5 billion of cargo,” said the BCMEA in a statement..“To add to this, British Columbia is entering a key season for agri-food exports,” said the BCMEA. .“Not only have the imports of materials for expansion, repairs, upgrades and alternative fertilizers for greenhouse growers been impacted, possibly compromising crop quality, but harvest season for major fruit exports has just begun for global markets.”.The Port of Vancouver is the biggest in Canada. In 2021, the government passed a law to stop a longshore strike at the Port of Montréal after five days. During the strike, ships carrying goods had to go to Halifax, Saint John, and Hamilton instead, which caused a one-week delay in deliveries..“The most concerning problem is reputational damage that the strike has on Canada’s image as a reliable trading partner,” said a 2021 labour department memo Backgrounder on the Cumulative Impact of a Work Stoppage at the Port of Montréal..“If major Canadian ports are not viewed as reliable, it will become more difficult to attract private investment.”
