July 5, 2023 | Circular No. 11549
Dear Member,
Please find below a brief recap of today’s developments with respect to the longshore strike at B.C. ports:
Negotiations and Advocacy
- The BCMEA and the ILWU have not resumed negotiations since the BCMEA withdrew from the bargaining process on Monday evening;
- The federal Labour Minister has urged the parties to immediately return to the bargaining table and continues to express the view that collective bargaining is the best avenue for resolving the current impasse;
- The Federation has added its name to a collective letter from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce strongly urging the Prime Minister to reconvene Parliament so it can introduce back-to-work legislation.
Operational Impacts
- The Port of Vancouver reports that picketing activity and intensity have increased over the last several days, and that some on-water picketing has also occurred;
- Anchorage utilization at the port continues to increase, and is now at 75 percent capacity for VFPA anchorages and 50 percent for Southern Gulf Island anchorages (additional information about anchorage management and other operational issues can be found in the port’s daily update, available through this link).
- Both CN and CPKC are reporting significant and steadily increasing impacts across their networks, and both railways have various embargoes in place.
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As always, we will continue to monitor the situation and provide members with updates on a daily basis. We would also ask members to keep us informed of any operational impacts or related issues arising from the labour disruption.
Sincerely,
Karen Kancens
Vice President