(Vancouver) The two parties involved in the long-running labor dispute affecting about 7,400 port workers in British Columbia say they have reached a new tentative agreement.
The union and the Maritime Employers Association issued a joint statement late Sunday evening indicating that an agreement had been reached with the help of the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which was responsible for ending the dispute that had dragged on since the start of the month of July.
A joint statement from the union and the association did not provide any details on the new agreement, but noted that both parties “recommend the ratification of the collective agreement to union members and member employers, respectively.”
The breakthrough in the dispute came after union members voted last Friday to reject a previous agreement, prompting Federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan to step in on Saturday and ask the Board to consider whether a negotiated agreement was always possible.
Minister O’Regan said otherwise the Board must “impose final binding arbitration”.
The dispute over a new collective bargaining agreement saw workers strike from July 1-13, preventing billions of dollars worth of goods from entering or leaving 30 port terminals and other sites, including some of the busiest ports. from Canada.
The previous tentative agreement ended this strike, but since then the situation has changed, with union leaders rejecting the agreement on July 19 and briefly sending workers back to the picket line, before the decision went to trial. illegal by the Industrial Relations Board.
The union issued a new 72-hour strike notice only to call it off hours later, then announced it would recommend the deal to members in a vote. But the members rejected it last week.
Ahead of the new agreement, union president Rob Ashton said in a letter on Sunday that workers were looking forward to resuming discussions and finding common ground for improving Canada’s supply chain and livelihoods of its workforce.
The employers’ association claimed the previously rejected contract included a compound wage increase of 19.2% and a signing bonus of about $3,000 per full-time worker. He said the result would have “potentially” increased the median annual salary of union longshoremen from $136,000 to $162,000, not including pension and benefits.
Pressure had grown for federal intervention if a deal failed to materialize.
Parties including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the Business Council of Canada and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business have all urged the federal government to legislate to end the dispute if it continues.