Employers, union to return to negotiating table with mediator in push for resolution to labour dispute
Employers at British Columbia’s ports and the union representing foremen at the ports will go back to the bargaining table before the month ends following a decision issued by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) last week.
The CIRB issued a decision on the complaints from both the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 and the BC Maritime Employers Association alleging the other of bargaining in bad faith.
The union – which represents about 700 port foremen – claimed that one employer, DP World, refused to engage on the issue of manpower requirements linked to port automation. However, the workers’ demands “were not presented in the context of collective bargaining or as a bargaining proposal,” the board said in its decision, according to the CP report.
“DP World’s approach of engaging in discussions … may not be conducive to harmonious labour relations,” the board said in its decision, according to the CP report posted on CityNews.
However, there was “no legal requirement” that the company should have acted otherwise, the board said, according to the report.
Bad faith bargaining
The board, meanwhile, granted the employers’ complaint against the union of bad faith bargaining “in part,” specifically involving a manpower and pay proposal that was presented in April.
Previously, dockworkers at the Port of Montreal represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) launched a three-day strike, halting operations at two key terminals that together handle over 40% of container traffic at Canada’s second-largest port.
The BC Maritime Employers Association will meet with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 on Oct. 29, and the negotiation session could be extended to Oct. 30 and 31 if necessary. This time around, a mediator will be in the picture.
Just a couple of months ago, the railway strike by workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) at Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) ended with Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon stepping in.
That was an “unprecedented” move, said the CIRB.