WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2023) The International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) said it has reached a new tentative agreement on wage increases with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), a development that could put an end to the ongoing port strikes in the province.
On Saturday, Canadian Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan said that ILWU's leadership had rejected another tentative agreement with the BCMEA. The Minister said he would use his authority under the Canada Labor Code to "preserve industrial peace", and either impose a collective agreement or a final binding arbitration if the Canada Industrial Relations board (CIRB) determined negotiations were impossible.
"The ILWU Canada Longshore Bargaining committee is happy to announce that we have secured a negotiated tentative settlement with the BCMEA. This will be presented to our members as per our constitution," the ILWU said in a statement on Sunday.
The BCMEA said that the negotiated collective agreement was made with the assistance of CIRB, and that it encouraged its ratification by the union members and their employers.
On July 18, the ILWU voted down the terms of settlement to end the strike in BC ports, saying that BCMEA-affiliated companies had made record profits without addressing the rising living cost of their employees.
They further argued that recommendations made by the mediators failed to protect current and future jobs as the terms implementation timeline of four years were too long considering the current uncertainties in global financial markets.
