Vancouver container truckers began meeting with government, Port Metro Vancouver and labour mediator Vince Ready March 6 in hopes of working out a solution to their concerns about wages and wait times.
Around 1,000 members of the non-unionized United Truckers Association stopped working on February 26. The 400-member Vancouver Container Truckers' Association, affiliated with Unifor, were set to go on strike at noon today.
They may still do so depending on the outcomes of today's meeting, Ian Boyko, communications representative with Unifor, told Business in Vancouver. As of press time, Boyko was still waiting to hear from Unifor negotiators.
Normally, around 2,000 truck drivers work at the port.
If the VCTA follows through on their promise to join the strike, that would leave just 600 truckers who would still be working, according to Port Metro Vancouver.
"There's no doubt that that's short of what we would require to maintain normal operations," Peter Xotta, vice-president of planning and operations at Port Metro Vancouver, told Business in Vancouver.
Both trucking groups say long waiting times at port terminals are reducing truckers' pay, many of whom are paid by the trip. They also say pay rates have declined because of undercutting. The VCTA has been without a collective agreement since June 2012.
"There's just not a stable environment to operate in," said Gavin McGarrigle, B.C. area director for Unifor.
McGarrigle said the port has also downloaded costs to truckers, such as an expensive upgrade to their trucks to meet emissions standards set by the port.
Vancouver businesses have already begun to feel the effects of the work stoppage.
"The product's being piled up to the rafter in my warehouse, and my Chinese orders and my New Zealand orders, they're all being piled up," said Kari Yuers, CEO of Vancouver-based Kryton International Inc. "We can't even get the cans delivered, let alone taken to the port for shipping."
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