B.C. port lockout: Operations to resume Thursday, employer says

Operations at British Columbia’s ports are slated to resume on Thursday, after the federal government intervened in a bitter labour dispute.

The B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) said Wednesday that the Canada Industrial Relations Board had the resumption of operations for Nov. 14.

It comes after federal Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon ordered the employer and locked port workers back to the table for binding arbitration.

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Hope for resolution in B.C. port dispute fades as talks break down

The BCMEA said dispatching functions would resume with Thursday’s day shift, while maintenance and operations could start late in the afternoon and were “subject to individual terminal operating realities.”

“With the resumption of work, coupled with an anticipated high volume of vessels and cargo, there will be extensive province-wide labour requirements across all port areas,” the association said.

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The locked-out International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 said this week it plans to challenge the back-to-work and arbitration orders.

The BCMEA said the industrial relations board has scheduled a Monday hearing to hear from the parties on “certain questions raised with respect to the ministerial direction.”

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Mediated talks to begin again in B.C. port dispute

Workers have been on the picket lines since Nov. 4, when the BCMEA implemented an industry-wide lockout after negotiations with the union collapsed.

The union had issued strike notice of its own for the same day, but claims it had planned limited job action and that the employer “recklessly” overreacted to force a federal intervention.

The employer said its final offer includes a 19-per cent wage increase over four years, along with a signing bonus. However, workers say the key sticking point concerns job security in the face of rising automation.