Bargaining talks start again today between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU).
A 21-day cooling-off period between the parties has ended, putting them in the legal position to choose to strike or lock out workers as of today. Last week, however, the ILWU Foremen’s Union resumed talks with the BCMEA, while this morning, ILWU Canada is back at the bargaining table.
“I’m neither optimistic nor pessimistic,” ILWU Canada president Tom Dufresne said.
“I’m going into the bargaining ready to negotiate.”
Last week, ILWU Canada voted 95% in favour of supporting strike action against member companies of the BCMEA if the union deems it necessary. The longshore union, however, also announced last week that it had no plans to issue a strike notice.
A union press release stated that the ILWU’s goal in returning to negotiations is “to reach an agreement that we have been in search of since bargaining started in January 2010.”
Port Metro Vancouver’s president and CEO Robin Silvester recently told Business in Vancouver that the labour uncertainty on Vancouver’s waterfront is causing cargo to be diverted to rival American ports.