Nearly 4,000 longshoremen, warehousemen and associated workers at west coast ports, including the port of Vancouver, were locked out yesterday.
The move effectively shuts down the ports of New Westminster Victoria, Cowichan Bay, Chemainus, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Prince Rupert, Stewart and Port Simpson.
B.C. Maritime Employers Association president Bob Wilds it was time to end what he called the “uncertainty” over the contract dispute.
“We just have to bring conclusion and finality to this issue,” said Wilds yesterday. “We’ve been in bargaining for 13 months. We’ve had tentative collective agreements rejected. We’ve provided a comprehensive package for resolution which provided significant improvements over the rejected package and they’re not prepared to vote on it.”
Grain terminals in Vancouver and Prince Rupert are not affected.
Since Oct. 20, when strike and lockout notice was issued, ships have been diverted to U.S. ports, said Wilds.
“We’ve had an escalating diversion of ships and cargo ever since that happened to the point where the ships and the cargo virtually have gone,” he said.
The forest industry has called for the federal government to step in and legislate an end to the impasse.
Wilds said he shares their concerns but has no say on what third parties might do.
He couldn’t say how long the dispute might last but if it lasts a long time the lockout will have “a tremendous ripple effect” and impact ordinary citizens, he said.
“Most ordinary folks rely on imported goods when they go shopping in their stores.
Those goods if they have to be diverted through U.S. west coast ports will be increased in costs because of additional costs of having to bring them up by truck or other means from where they’re discharged in the U.S.”
The lockout is expected to cost $89 million a day due to diversions of container traffic.
Tom Dufresne, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, called on the employer to return to the bargaining table.
“We’d like to be back bargaining. We don’t feel there’s any need for a lockout. We just feel this can be resolved by bargaining.”
He said employer doesn’t really have to lock them out.
“The negotiating committee feels it can be resolved at the table. We’re close. There’s a couple of issues that have to be resolved.”
