A tentative eight-year collective agreement was announced this morning between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 514 and the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA).
ILWU Local 514 represents nearly 500 foremen. Their previous agreement with the BCMEA ended March 31, 2010.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada issued a press release this morning announcing the tentative deal.
“British Columbia’s ports and the people who keep them running play a vital role in the Canadian economy,” Labour Minister Lisa Raitt said in the release.
“I look forward to the ratification of this agreement and am happy to say that these agreements will ensure the ports’ long-term labour stability and will assist in Canada’s economic recovery.”
Last year, the BCMEA and five locals of the ILWU, representing longshoremen on the waterfront, signed an eight-year agreement.
(See “Port labour peace buoyed by ‘historic’ longshore deal” – issue 1127; May 31- June 6, 2011.)
At the time, Greg Vurdela, BCMEA vice-president of marketing and information services, told Business in Vancouver that he believed the eight-year deal was the longest collective bargaining agreement ever achieved on a North American waterfront.
BCMEA and ILWU Local 514 representatives could not be reached for comment by press deadline.
Jenny Wagler
@JennyWagler_BIV