B.C. port strike: Work resuming after agreement reached

Work resumed Thursday at B.C.’s ports after both sides agreed to a tentative deal to end the stoppage that has halted cargo movements.

The B.C. Maritime Employers Association confirmed the work would begin Thursday afternoon after the tentative agreement was reached in the B.C. port strike. 

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada announced the tentative deal on Thursday at 10:20 a.m.

They did not provide any further details at this time.

The union and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association had until 10:30 a.m. Thursday to accept the terms of a settlement recommended by a federal mediator that would end the 13-day-old industrial action.

Terms of a settlement, recommended by the mediator, were given to the two sides on Wednesday.

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About 7,400 workers have been on strike since July 1, halting shipments in and out of about 30 ports in B.C., including Canada’s largest, the Port of Vancouver.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade estimates more than $9.3 billion of trade has been disrupted since the strike began on July 1.

It also says 63,000 shipping containers are waiting on the water to be unloaded.

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Bridgitte Anderson, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president and CEO, said in a statement that they are pleased to see this development but warned it will take some time for normal cargo operations to restore and for the economy to fully recover.

“This is the longest strike we have had in nearly 40 years on the waterfront, and it follows a period of great instability for our supply chains,” she said. “The 13-day strike has had a significant impact on Canada’s west coast ports and Canadian economy, disrupting an estimated $9.7 billion in trade, as reported by the Board of Trade’s Port Shutdown Calculator estimation tool as of this morning. The consequences of the strike have been felt across various industries nationwide and will continue for some time.”

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“Those workers need to be treated fairly,” Eby said at the annual premiers meeting in Winnipeg. “And the issue at the port cannot drag on because it has a profoundly damaging impact across the country on workers that are also trying to feed their families right now. So there’s huge urgency. I’m very glad to see the federal government being actively involved at the table to get a lasting solution between the workers and the employer.”

With files from The Canadian Press