VANCOUVER – The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, representing ship and dock foremen, has agreed to delay serving 72-hour strike notice on employer DP World Canada at Centerm in order to take part in federal mediation and is refuting alleged false claims made by the BC Maritime Employers Association about the dispute.
ILWU Local 514 President Frank Morena says the Union is doing everything it can to avoid potential job action – including not serving strike notice in order to try and restart failed negotiations – but that the BCMEA is deliberately being misleading and bargaining in the media.
Mr. Morena said the Union wants to bargain directly with its employer, DP World Canada, but the company is refusing to bargain and attempting to have the BCMEA do its bargaining instead, leading to an impasse.
“Let’s be clear – it was the BCMEA that broke off talks, not ILWU Local 514; it was the BCMEA that filed a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board over bargaining, not ILWU Local 514 and it is the BCMEA that is trying to negotiate in the media instead of at the bargaining table, not ILWU Local 514,” Mr. Morena said.
“Our Union members want to negotiate a fair contract with our employer – DP World Canada – and continue our important work in the port but the BCMEA has been an obstacle to reaching a new collective agreement,” he said.
“We have the legal right, confirmed by arbitration, to negotiate directly with DP World Canada and it is only our members certified at DP World Canada that have taken a legal strike vote over issues directly related to their work – the involvement of BCMEA is not only unhelpful – it is provocative when we need productive bargaining,” Mr. Morena said, adding that Union members voted 100% to take job action if needed.
Mr. Morena said three key issues are outstanding: DP World Canada’s use of semi automation at its container terminal without bargaining tech change; centralized dispatching despite losing an arbitration over the issue; and its use of management dispatchers instead of Union members at its Nanaimo terminal, again despite the arbitration ruling against it.
ILWU Local 514’s contract expired March 31, 2023, and talks to reach a new contract for its over 700 members failed last year have so far been in deadlock.
(Photo of Centerm terminal at Port of Vancouver)
