B.C. port lockout to begin with no deal reached in contract dispute with foremen union

The provincewide lockout against a union of more than 700 foremen at British Columbia’s ports is expected to begin at 8 a.m. PT, with fears the move may freeze trade on Canada’s West Coast.

The B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) has said the lockout is meant to “facilitate a safe and orderly wind-down of operations” in light of “escalating and unpredictable strike action.”

Last week, it said the move was being done “defensively” after International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 514 had issued a 72-hour strike notice for job action, which also starts at 8 a.m. PT.

The union has accused the association as “acting recklessly” by threatening the lockout, saying it was an an “attempt to force the federal government to intervene in the dispute.”

The BCMEA said in a statement Sunday that the final offer — which was issued to the union’s president on Wednesday — remained open and that if it were accepted by the union, it would avoid “unnecessary strike action.”

Union president Frank Morena said in a news release Sunday that the employers had threatened to remove existing parts of the collective agreement if the union did not accept its final offer.

“Let me be crystal clear to the BCMEA: Our union will not sign any contract which includes concessions that remove existing parts of our collective agreement that our members fought long and hard for over many years,” Morena said.

$800M in trade per day

Bridgitte Anderson, CEO and president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, said she’s very concerned about the potential of a lockout, adding that $800 million in trade flows through West Coast ports everyday.

“This could have disruptions right across our industries, right across our sectors, and in fact right across the whole Canadian economy,” she said in an interview Sunday.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on the federal government to step into the dispute and is asking Ottawa to make ports an essential service so that they remain fully operational at all times.

“The shutdown of B.C. ports will negatively impact many small businesses across Canada,” said Jasmin Guenette, CFIB’s vice president of national affairs. He pointed out that a 13-day port strike in 2023 froze billions of dollars in trade at the docks.

In a statement on social media platform X on Sunday, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said federal mediators are on standby, ready to help the employers and union.

“It is the responsibility of the parties to reach an agreement. Businesses, workers and farmers are counting on them to get a deal,” he said.