(Vancouver) Uncertainty looms at British Columbia ports, as the longshoremen’s union rejected the interim mediation agreement and re-wound a strike that was temporarily halted last week.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) announced a return to picket lines on Tuesday, arguing that “employers have failed to address the cost of living issues” faced by workers in recent years.

The union, which represents around 7,400 workers who were on strike from July 1-13, says its priority has always been to protect its jurisdiction, and that its position “has not changed”.

University of British Columbia professor emeritus Mark Thompson says the situation is now in “uncharted territory” because the strike is unusually long for Vancouver.

Thompson notes that the federal government has been very reluctant to enact back-to-work legislation amid labor disputes, but strikes disrupting the Port of Vancouver – Canada’s largest – have lasted no more than two weeks since at least the 1980s.

The renewed ILWU strike means more than 30 port terminals and other sites across the province are once again closed indefinitely.

The tentative four-year deal that was rejected by the union caucus had been proposed by a federal mediator at the request of Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan.

In a joint statement released late Tuesday evening, Minister O’Regan and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said they were disappointed, saying the mediated agreement ending the work stoppage was the result of a process constructive and substantial collective bargaining.

The ministers’ statement also appears to hint at possible back-to-work legislation.

“We have been patient. We respected the collective bargaining process. But we need our ports to operate,” they said.