(Vancouver) The organization that represents employers at about 30 striking ports in British Columbia says binding arbitration could end the six-day dispute.
More than 7,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union walked off the job on Canada Day after voting overwhelmingly to strike against the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA).
Talks stalled on Monday and business groups are increasingly calling for federal legislation to end the dispute, while Canadian Pacific, now called Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), announces temporary embargoes on rail traffic to the Port of Vancouver.
The latest statement from the employers’ association says compulsory arbitration could end the dispute quickly, something it first proposed in mid-June in the weeks before the workers leave.
Federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan discussed the strike with his British Columbia counterpart Harry Bains on Wednesday, but O’Regan has so far resisted calls to legislate strikers resume work.
One of the main sticking points for the union is the classification of maintenance work and the use of outside contractors, which the stevedores say infringes on their jurisdiction.
