Canada West Coast Strike Ends
ILWU Canada Votes To Accept Port Labor Agreement
Excerpted from Reuters.com, August 5, 2023, by David Ljunggren
Dock workers in western Canada voted to accept an improved labor contract after a month-long dispute that affected trade and disrupted operations at the country’s busiest ports, their union said on Friday.
The vote was 74.66% in favor of the terms of the settlement, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said in a statement.
Disagreements in contract negotiations have disrupted billions of dollars in trade, raising concerns about fueling inflation.
The union provisionally agreed to a new contract on Sunday, averting an immediate strike, but the agreement needed to be approved by workers.
The government had directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to resolve the dispute after workers rejected a previous contract. Ottawa was seeking to keep two of Canada’s three busiest ports – Vancouver and Prince Rupert – open.
Canada’s Minister Of Labour Seamus O’Regan and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) confirmed that the ILWU had ratified the deal.
B.C. port dispute ends as workers vote to accept new deal
Excerpted from CBC.ca, June 6
Nearly 75 per cent of union members voted to approve the tentative agreement
Port workers in British Columbia have accepted a new tentative deal with their employers, bringing an end to a tumultuous, weeks-long contract dispute that has paralyzed industries and supply chains across Canada.
Late on Friday, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) says the vast majority of its more-than-7,400 members voted to ratify a deal reached with help from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).
The two-day vote closed at 6 p.m. PT on Friday.
“The results of the ratification vote for the tentative agreement show 74.66 per cent in favour of accepting the terms of settlement,” ILWU president Rob Ashton wrote in a letter posted to the union’s Facebook page shortly before 8 p.m. PT on Friday.
Both the ILWU and the employers, represented by the B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), have now ratified the deal.
