2023-07-19 22:48:26
In response to news of a new 72-hour strike notice for longshore workers in British Columbia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday followingnoon that he will convene the Incident Response Group to discuss of the situation.
This group is described as a dedicated emergency committee that will meet in the event of a national crisis or during incidents elsewhere that have major implications for Canada, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
It was created in August 2018 and was convened in response to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, rail blockades in 2022 and the war in Ukraine.
The work stoppage might resume on Saturday
The leadership of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union of Canada (ILWUC) has filed a 72-hour strike notice, according to the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA). The work stoppage in the ports might therefore resume on Saturday, July 22, at or around 9 a.m. (PDT), specifies the latter in a press release.
On Wednesday, shortly before the announcement, federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan had declared that a strike relaunched the previous day by the Union at the ports of British Columbia was illegal following a decision by the Council Canada Industrial Relations (CIRB).
On Twitter, the minister clarified that the CIRB had ordered an end to any walkout because the union had failed to give 72 hours’ notice before the start of a strike following the rejection of the tentative agreement on Tuesday.
Shortly following this declaration, the picket lines were disbanded in British Columbia.
In a statement, the longshoremen’s union says it had been in a legal strike position since July 1, but suspended picketing at the request of the Minister of Labor while it considered a collective agreement with terms and conditions. settlement suggested by a mediator.
The union says it will appeal the decision of the Canada Industrial Relations Board. In the meantime, operations at British Columbia ports are scheduled to resume Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. (PDT).
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The union of longshoremen issued a new strike notice following the rejection of the tentative agreement on Tuesday.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Justine Boulin
According to union president Rob Ashton, the four-year agreement reached following a mediation process does not go far enough to protect jobs threatened by contracting out. He also believes that the issue of wages has not been resolved, given the profits made by maritime employers in recent years and the rising cost of living.
It has been 22 days since the union gave its first 72-hour notice and signaled its intention to disrupt Canada’s west coast ports. Since then, it has caused immense damage to Canada’s trade reputation and disrupted shipments worth at least $10 billion, writes the Maritime Employers Association.
Evaluate all options
Tuesday evening, in a joint statement, Seamus O’Regan and the federal Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, said they were studying “different possible options” in the face of the rejection of the agreement in principle by the leadership of the caucus of the longshoremen’s union.
Workers and employers across Canada cannot cope with further disruption of the magnitude we experienced last week, they wrote.
We have been patient. We respected the collective bargaining process. But we need our ports to work.
The stevedores had been on strike for 13 days beginning July 1, but returned to work following a tentative agreement was reached between the two sides last Thursday.
The ministers say they were informed on Tuesday that ILWUC leaders decided not to allow their members to vote on ratifying the tentative agreement, although they initially agreed to recommend terms of the agreement.
Members of the Maritime Employers Association, for their part, have accepted the agreement in full, according to the ministers’ statement.
The business community is getting impatient
Several companies and organizations have expressed their disappointment at the news that the longshoremen’s union has rejected the tentative agreement.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) have once more called on the federal government to pass special legislation in the Commons to force longshoremen back to work.
So far, the strike has already had a very negative impact on small businesses across the country, CFIB executive vice-president Corinne Pohlmann said in a statement.
Allowing the strike to drag on any longer is negligent and will only worsen supply chain disruptions.
Robin Guy, vice-president and deputy head, government relations, at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said any further delay would cause more damage to the Canadian economy: “We call on the government and all parties to agree to convene parliament once more and pass back-to-work legislation immediately. »
The Forest Products Association of Canada is also calling for Ottawa to intervene. British Columbia’s ports are considered critical infrastructure by the industry. […] The impacts are felt immediately and have already resulted in plant closures, downsizing, layoffs and tens of millions of dollars in lost or interrupted business, she wrote in a statement. communicated.
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The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, demands an intervention from Justin Trudeau (file photo).
Photo : CBC News / Brady Strachan
Differing political reactions
The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, on Wednesday demanded that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announce a plan to end the strike within the next 24 hours.
We cannot pay the price, it is expensive for workers, consumers and businesses, he said at a press briefing in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
For his part, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada, Jagmeet Singh, asked the government not to interfere in this file, except to say that the two parties must negotiate a good contract.
British Columbia Premier David Eby agrees that workers, who deserve to be treated fairly […] and the employer, who is responsible for guaranteeing the functioning of the ports, must resume negotiations to find a solution.
I call on the federal government to do everything in its power to bring the parties back to the negotiating table as quickly as possible to resolve this issue, he said at a press briefing in Campbell River. in British Columbia.
According to him, waiting for the federal government to pass a law will not be a quick solution.
With information from The Canadian Press
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