As the fertilizer and other industries grapple with the impact of a work stoppage at Canada’s two largest railways, a union of 730 dock foremen in British Columbia – home to Canada’s busiest port in Vancouver – is also threatening to strike, pending a vote by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 514.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) reported on Aug. 16 that it and the ILWU have been involved in a hearing with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to discuss the union’s pay and manning proposed, which the BCMEA alleges to be illegal. As a result, the BCMEA has filed an additional bad faith bargaining complaint against the union.
The CIRB hearing is set to resume on Sept. 11-17. While neither the ILWU nor the BCMEA have issued strike or lockout notices, the BCMEA on Aug. 16 said it is aware that an industry-wide strike vote is currently underway across various BCMEA member terminals.
“The BCMEA remains committed to achieving a fair settlement in good faith that is beneficial for the 730 hardworking forepersons and their families, while also protecting the stability of Canada’s West Coast ports, and regrets needing to seek resolution through further litigation,” the employers group said.
“The BCMEA proposed comprehensive offers that could have resulted in a competitive and balanced deal to ILWU Local 514 members, and if accepted, would have provided all forepersons with significant gains in wages and benefits, without any concession requests from employers,” the BCMEA added.
Businesses are still reeling from a 13-day dockworker strike by the ILWU a year ago (GM July 7, 2023), which the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade said disrupted C$10.7 billion ($8 billion) in trade. Canada’s transport ministry said last year’s disruption reduced Canada’s gross domestic product by as much as C$980 million.
“Our reputation as a reliable trading partner, already fragile after the strikes in our Western ports last summer, appears poised to take another costly hit,” Bridgitte Anderson, President of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.
Potash supplier Canpotex Ltd. is concerned about where Asian importers will turn if Canadian products are blocked, citing market share lost to Russia after last year’s strike, Bloomberg reported.
“We are stepping up to ship more Canadian potash in light of sanctions and restrictions on Russia and Belarus, but that hinges on Canada’s railroads and ports functioning,” said Natashia Stinka, Canpotex’s Director of Public Affairs. One week of the Canpotex’s train traffic is equivalent to about 10,000 trucks on the road, according to the company.
Industry bodies representing automakers and miners have previously warned about the impact of strikes to customer relationships and Canada’s brand for trade stability, according to an April report by Canada’s House of Commons trade committee.
After last year’s port shutdown, US marine terminals swooped in and signed long-term contracts with shipping companies to reroute cargo away from Canada’s west coast. “The impacts of that continued cargo diversion are still present today,” the BCMEA said in a briefing for Canadian lawmakers in December.
As fresh strikes loom, cargo is again being delayed and disrupted, said Jonathan White, Commercial Vice President at Canada Steamship Lines Inc., which ships millions of tons per year of dry bulk commodities, including iron ore, grain, cement and salt.
Some so-called discretionary cargo may be heading south to the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles, which are handling a surge of containers approaching records set during the pandemic.
“We’re starting to see, especially on the west coast at least, some loss of market share here,” said Bonnie Gee, President of the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia. “It erodes confidence, for sure, in the Canadian market.”
Ships currently en route to Vancouver are being told to slow down and delay their arrivals to prevent further congestion, and the port expects goods including grain, potash, coal, and other cargo to be disrupted, according to Alex Munro, a port spokesperson.
Canada’s labor disputes are also coinciding with stalled talks covering about 45,000 dockworkers in the US. The International Longshoremen Association called off wage negotiations earlier this summer and are preparing to strike if no deal is reached with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) before the Sept. 30 expiration of their existing contract.