Canadian port worker strike impacts cargo worth billions of dollars

The BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) said the strike action by the International Longshore and Warehouse (ILWU Canada) now entering had potentially disrupted C$7.5 billion worth in cargo over a 10-day period.

Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) estimated previously that goods worth C$500 million a day were being disrupted accounting for some 16% of the country’s total goods.

The two sides have returned to the negotiating table but the war of words between the BCMEA and ILWU Canada has continued.

Canadian dockworkers are being backed by the ILWU south of the border and as Seatrade Maritime News reported on Monday US dockworkers say they will not handle ships diverted from Vancouver and Port Rupert to Seattle or other US West Coast ports.

“ILWU Canada leadership have even banded together with US West Coast port workers who say they will refuse to work containerships that were rerouted from Port of Vancouver to Port of Seattle – further damaging the reliability and competitiveness of West Coast ports up and down the coast,” BCMEA said on Monday.

The ILWU Canada continued to accuse employers of greed with shipping lines making huge profits during in the pandemic as container freight rates soared to record levels. All six of the world’s largest shipping lines are members of the BCMEA.

Related:US dockworkers won’t handle vessels diverted from Canada port strike

“The federal government would not intervene to impose contract terms on the shipping companies, protecting Canadians from cost and disruption, and it’s sheer hypocrisy to now argue that government should force longshore workers back to work,” said ILWU Canada President Rob Ashton.