The union which represents about 7,400 workers in the ongoing BC port dispute has sent a letter to employers, outlining what it seeks in a new collective agreement while saying it is committed to negotiating a resolution .
The letter comes a day after federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan announced he was directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to determine whether a negotiated settlement is still possible in the dispute and, if not, to impose a agreement or final binding arbitration to both parties.
However, Mr. Ashton points out that while a deal rejected by union members on Friday included “progress … in addressing some labor issues”, it did not provide protections for workers. ports, as more maintenance work is outsourced to third parties.
The union says employers must “regulate the scope of maintenance work that can be contracted out” and provide more “joint efforts” and “open feedback” with workers to improve safety and well-being. be employees.
The letter follows the union’s latest rejection, which has prompted calls for action from a number of business and political leaders. 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.
Minister O’Regan noted in his statement on Saturday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s July 19 decision to meet with the Incident Response Group – a decision typically reserved for times of national crisis – showed that “the government is ready for all options and eventualities”.
“The state of uncertainty cannot continue,” Mr. O’Regan said. While our BC ports are operating now, we need long-term stability for the many workers and businesses that depend on them. »
In another letter, the leader of the federal Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, asked Mr. Trudeau to fire Mr. O’Regan and “appoint a replacement who will act quickly” to end the labor dispute at the port.
“The first signs of this disruption occurred in November 2022,” Poilievre wrote, referring to when the union and employers first filed notice of their intent to bargain a new contract. “You and your minister had almost a year to resolve this issue, but you failed. »
The BC Maritime Employers Association says the rejected deal included a compound wage increase of 19.2% and a signing bonus of about $3,000 per full-time worker. She added that the result would have “potentially” increased the median annual salary of union longshoremen from $136,000 to $162,000, not including pension and benefits.
