(Vancouver) Striking BC port workers and their employer held a round of negotiations over the weekend, the first since talks collapsed a week ago, but neither side says when. or if further talks are planned.
About 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have been on strike since July 1, shutting down all cargo handling at the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest port.
Prince Rupert, the country’s third-busiest port, and more than 28 others along the British Columbia coast are also affected.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association says in its latest statement, released Saturday after the series of mediated talks, that it has made an offer to meet demands from portworkers to extend union jurisdiction over the works. regular maintenance at the terminals.
Maintenance competence, along with improved wages and language to prevent outsourcing and automation are key issues in the labor dispute.
The union has not publicly responded to the association’s proposal, but a union leader said at a rally in Vancouver on Sunday that maintenance control is a “line in the sand” and that while longshoremen cannot prevent automation, they, not the contractors, should be the ones who should do the repairs if the technology breaks down.
