The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada said it will meet next week to recommend the terms of a settlement deal to its membership, possibly bringing labour peace to British Columbia’s ports.
The BC Maritime Employers Association said Friday the agreement to be presented to workers is the same one the union’s caucus rejected just days ago.
In a statement, the association said the deal is the proposal reached with a federal mediator and was originally agreed to by both sides on July 13.
“The tentative agreement presented is the result of months of negotiations and mediation,” the association statement said, adding that employers are “hopeful” the union’s membership will fully ratify it when a vote is held, possibly late next week.
Workers shut down provincial port facilities for 13 days earlier this month, then returned to work only to walk off the job again briefly on Tuesday when the union’s caucus rejected the mediated agreement.
Union president Rob Ashton said in a written statement that members will take the 8 a.m. shift off next Tuesday for the meeting where the deal will be presented.
News of a possible agreement broke late Thursday as the union’s Local 502 said on its website that the union would hold an “emergency contract caucus” Friday to decide if the deal would be sent to a full-membership vote for ratification or rejection.
The two sides had been negotiating a new collective agreement since March but reached an impasse despite the aid of a federal mediator, triggering the strike from July 1 to July 13.
The job action by about 7,400 workers froze billions of dollars’ worth of goods at Canada’s key West Coast import and export points.
In a tweet sent moments after the union announcement, federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan thanked the union for sending the terms of the agreement to a vote.
“Right now, B.C. ports are operating, but we need long-term stability,” he said.
The announcement capped a tumultuous week in the dispute, with the union’s rejection of the agreement, an hours-long strike on Tuesday and then a decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board that said the job action was illegal.
Workers went back to the job while the union issued 72-hour notice planned for Saturday, only to rescind it hours later.
The turbulent turn of events has left industry groups hesitant to express optimism in the union’s latest announcement.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade paused its port shutdown calculator Friday that estimated the cost of disruptions, but declined to comment until after the union membership’s vote.
The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said in a news release that it is cautious in its optimism that the dispute has been resolved, as the original 13-day strike damaged Canada’s global reputation “as a reliable place to do business.”
“We are closely watching the situation and remain hopeful for a successful resolution,” the group’s president Dennis Darby said. “However, manufacturers and our economy cannot continue to withstand these disruptions that are severely impacting our sector.”
Darby also said the federal government needs to consider introducing measures to prevent similar events from happening again.
The dispute, which disrupted operations at Canada’s largest port in Vancouver, triggered vocal responses from both political and business leaders across Canada, with some, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, calling for back-to-work legislation.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened an incident response group over the uncertainty at B.C. ports, saying it was unacceptable that the union rejected the tentative deal that had been agreed to by negotiators on both sides.
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