ILWU Canada withdraws port strike notice after PM calls crisis meeting

In an increasingly complex situation the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada) had restarted the strike at British Colombia ports at 4pm on Tuesday after it announced its Caucus had rejected a tentative deal recommended by federal mediators.

Employers represented by the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) complained to the industrial relations board that the strike required a 72-hour notice resulting in the ILWU issuing a new strike notice from 22 July.

With the threat of further disruption at Canadian West Coast Ports, including the gateways of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, Prime Minister Trudeau called a crisis meeting on Wednesday.

The PM convened an Incident Response Group with Ministers and senior officials and the group briefed on latest developments the notice from unions that the dockworker strike would resume on 22 July.

“This decision came after union leadership failed to give union members an opportunity to vote on the tentative settlement that was agreed to last week by both the union and the employer following weeks of federal mediation and negotiation,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

“The Prime Minister stressed the critical importance of resuming operations in our ports as soon as possible. Workers and employers across Canada – and all Canadians – cannot face further disruption,” the statement added.

Following the meeting the ILWU Canada strike notice was removed according to a single line statement posted on its website.

BCMEA issued a statement saying that situation remained fluid. “The past 24 hours have demonstrated that this continues to be a fluid and unpredictable situation. We will communicate as appropriate with key stakeholders as we receive clarification,” it said. The BCMEA accepted the tentative agreement on the same day it was issued.

Over 7,000 members of the ILWU Canada were on strike for 13 days before calling off action to consider the tentative agreement.

The strike impacted billions of dollars worth of goods and the BCMEA estimated it impacted C$7.5 billion ($5.5bn) in cargo during the first 10 days. 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.

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