Striking International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers picket at a port entrance in Vancouver on July 4.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The union representing B.C. port workers on strike is clashing with employers over what constitutes a fair wage increase to account for inflation as the gulf widens between the two sides.
The International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) has sought a wage raise of 11 per cent in the first year and 6 per cent in the second year, as well as an $8,000 signing bonus as an “inflation adjustment allowance,” according to two sources familiar with the situation.
The union’s proposed two-year deal would result in a hike to the general base rate, which is $48.23 an hour for the day shift. The signing bonus would be a one-time lump-sum payout.
About 7,400 ILWU members went on strike on Saturday at the Port of Vancouver and three smaller regions, affecting more than 35 terminals across British Columbia. Contract talks stalled on Tuesday.
There are a variety of job classifications, with compensation pegged to the general base rate.
Premiums are attached to certain shifts and workers earn extra money depending on their skills. For example, the wage rate is currently $77.17 an hour for the weekend night shift that starts at 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Skilled trades such as mechanics and millwrights receive an extra $2.50 an hour.
Employers say the union is asking for too much. But ILWU president Rob Ashton issued a statement to assert that union members deserve to be properly compensated, saying employers have been “gorging on record profits.”
The previous five-year collective agreement expired on March 31. Attempts to reach a pact with the assistance of federal mediators have not succeeded, with the union and the group representing employers accusing each other of being unreasonable.
“We did take the position that it is reasonable for the workers that helped to achieve those record profits in the first place to have a fair and equitable share of them,” said Mr. Ashton, who argued that the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) is trying to sabotage negotiations.
Business groups have been calling on the Liberal government to recall Parliament to introduce back-to-work legislation, but Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has repeatedly said the focus must be on finding a resolution at the bargaining table.
“We encourage both parties to immediately return to the bargaining table and remain there until a deal is reached,” Mr. O’Regan tweeted on Tuesday. “Collective bargaining is hard work but it’s how the best, most resilient deals are made.”
The BCMEA, which represents 49 private-sector companies such as shipowners and terminal operators, has described good wages at the union. In a statement late on Monday, the BCMEA cited a median annual income of $136,000, plus benefits and pension for longshore workers last year.
“Rather than work toward an equitable deal, ILWU Canada seems to have entrenched their positions,” the BCMEA said. “ILWU Canada’s proposals for compensation are unreasonable, and well outside the established norm of union settlements in Canada.”
Longshore wages have jumped 40 per cent over the past 13 years, said the BCMEA, which added that in the past three years alone, ILWU members’ wages have climbed about 10 per cent.
Bob Dhaliwal, the ILWU’s secretary treasurer, would not confirm the wage demands, saying the union does not bargain through the media.
“Proposals between the parties are supposed to be kept confidential until a tentative agreement is reached due to the fact that although both sides have demands on the table, they are up for negotiation,” Mr. Dhaliwal said in an e-mail on Tuesday to The Globe and Mail. “Any numbers you may have received cannot be confirmed until both parties agree on the terms. These include wage demands.”
Besides seeking cost-of-living wage increases, the union’s other main concerns are over automation and contracting out. The ILWU has also emphasized that its members made sacrifices during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep goods moving through four B.C. ports.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority oversees Canada’s largest port while three other B.C. authorities are responsible for locations in Prince Rupert in Northern B.C. and the Vancouver Island communities of Nanaimo and Port Alberni.
About 6,000 of the ILWU’s members are based at the Port of Vancouver, 1,000 in the Prince Rupert area and the rest on Vancouver Island.
An array of businesses has warned about the disruptions to Canada’s fragile supply chain.
“The cost of products used in our restaurants is already at historic highs. This strike will cause costs to rise even further,” Restaurants Canada, a trade association, warned on Tuesday. “After a challenging three years with increased labour shortages, rising interest rates and operational costs, restaurants do not need more uncertainty.”
The Port of Vancouver is becoming increasingly congested during the strike, with the suspension of goods imported inside reusable steel containers such as consumer goods, construction materials, auto parts and produce. Exports inside containers would normally include wood pulp, specialty crops, lumber and metals.
Potash and sulphur are among the commodities suspended from being loaded into the cargo holds of ships that would be destined overseas.
Bulk grain shipments are expected to continue being exported overseas, in accordance with the Canada Labour Code. Two coal-export terminals, one near the Vancouver suburb of Delta and the other near Prince Rupert, would keep operating because those employers have their own collective agreements.