VANCOUVER - With Ottawa threatening to introduce back-to-work legislation tomorrow, union and management have agreed to end a lockout at West Coast ports.
Details of the tentative deal, first proposed by a mediator during meetings over the past few days, have not been released.
The agreement is not a new contract, but simply a way to get ports reopened while bargaining resumes.
The deal was confirmed about 4 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon – not long after the deadline Ottawa had imposed for a negotiated settlement.
On Saturday the federal Minister of Labour, Claudette Bradshaw, said the government could not risk having the dispute drag on much longer.
She issued an ultimatum: reach a deal to reopen the ports by Sunday afternoon, or the Liberals would introduce back-to-work legislation in the House of Commons on Monday.
About 2,000 longshoremen were locked out last Sunday in a dispute over union jurisdiction.
Many business groups, including forestry companies and manufacturing firms, lobbied for government intervention to end the dispute.
It’s estimated that the lockout, which left half a dozen B.C. ports closed, is costing Canada’s economy as much as $100 million a day.
Businesses have pointed out that it’s not just a West Coast problem, because the ports handle all kinds of goods – from imported cars to exported lumber
Even with Sunday’s agreement, it could take at least a week before ships return to the ports and cargo begins moving again.
