Union in Canadian province of British Columbia rescinds port strike notice after Trudeau meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with top officials after the coast union extended the strike notice for 72 hours
Gantry cranes are idled as a container ship docks during the outage, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. British Columbia port employers say the workers union along the coast gave 72-hour notice of new strike action starting Saturday morning. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press via AP)
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Vancouver, British Columbia — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with top officials on Wednesday after the coastal union extended the strike notice for 72 hours. The announcement was later rescinded by the association that had previously blocked shipments into and out of ports in Canada’s west coast British Columbia region for nearly two weeks.
The International Coalition of Warehouses and Coasts of Canada said late Wednesday in a short note to locals that the strike notice set for July 22 at 9 a.m. “has now been removed.” “.
Once the 72-hour notice is lifted, the union cannot resume strike action unless otherwise given notice, according to a decision the Canadian Industrial Relations Commission issued against the union Wednesday.
British Columbia ports had previously closed for 13 days at the beginning of the month, bringing billions of dollars worth of cargo to a halt.
About 7,400 workers at more than 30 British Columbia docks and other locations began their strike on July 1 and initially returned to work last Thursday after a tentative deal was drawn up. discussed by a federal mediator.
But workers were quickly back in line Tuesday afternoon after a union caucus rejected the four-year contract.
The Canadian Industrial Relations Commission ruled that it was illegal and ordered members to stop and cancel strike action until appropriate 72-hour notice. It said the union’s stance was that it did not need to give notice because there was an ongoing strike.
Trudeau has convened an incident response team, which convenes only at times of national crisis or to discuss events that are important to Canada. Consisting of Cabinet ministers and senior officials, it has previously been convened because of events including the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and blockades related to the Union movement. car Freedom last year.
Federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra released a statement late Tuesday saying that workers and employers across Canada cannot face the disruption. further disruption and they are looking at all options.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said relying on Ottawa to get the law back to work would not be a quick solution.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Prime Minister Trudeau must end the strike immediately because of the huge cost to workers, consumers and businesses.
