SUPPORT has been pouring in from Canadian and international unions for striking dockers on Canada’s West Coast.
About 7,400 members of the ILWU Canada employed at more than 30 B.C. ports have been on strike since July 1st, Canada Day.
‘The ITF and our almost 20 million workers, members of transport unions from across the globe, 100 per cent support the action being taken by International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada’s rank-and-file dockers,’ said International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) President and Dockers’ Section Chair Paddy Crumlin.
‘ILWU members in Canada went to work around the clock throughout the pandemic when the rest of the country was asked to stay at home for their safety.
‘They endured increased risk of infection and death from Covid long before there were vaccines. ILWU members kept and continue to keep Canada moving. They sacrificed.
‘And now they’re sacrificing again. By taking indefinite strike action to stand up for fairness in the face of unprecedented greed.’
ILWU Canada’s key demands centre on:
1. Ending contracting out to ensure decent employment standards;
2. Protecting current and future generations of dockworkers from the devastating impacts of port automation;
3. Winning a fair pay rise that compensates dockworkers for their contribution to the economy and protects against record inflation and the current cost of living crisis.
Crumlin called on the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) to return to the bargaining table and rise above the dirty-tricks and misleading leaks from anonymous sources that are hampering good faith bargaining.
He said: ‘The bosses at the BCMEA are acting atrociously. Let’s not forget that every day BCMEA play games, the Canadian people and their economy are impacted, and their workers are forced to pay the cost, potentially risking mortgages and their own financial security.’
Crumlin said swelling corporate profits in shipping, particularly since the onset of the pandemic, must be redistributed and shared with longshore and other maritime workers who do the heavy lifting that generates companies’ unprecedented profits.
‘It’s time for BCMEA to return to the bargaining table to get this contract done,’ Crumlin said.
Support is already flooding in for the striking ILWU members from Canadian and international unions.
First Vice-Chair of the ITF Dockers’ Section and International President of the ILWU, Willie Adams, visited picket lines as the strike began, and an international delegation of dockers’ unions arrived in Canada ahead of the rally last Sunday, 9th July.
ITF Dockers’ Section Second Vice-Chair Niek Stam, from the Dutch dockers’ union FNV Havens, led the ITF delegation and pledged support for Canadian longshore workers.
He said: ‘Not only as a Vice Chair of the ITF Dockers’ Section, but also as the union leader of our dockers’ union FNV Havens in the Netherlands, I bring not only support but also good examples of how our union negotiated good and solid contracts with our employers.
‘In the Netherlands, we concluded 62 CBAs in the port section. All contracts have compensation for inflation and clauses on automation and maintenance in the terminals. All maintenance workers are part of our CBAs. Nothing is impossible.
‘It is time that BCMEA showed good faith and willingness to follow our good examples. If our employers can do it, BCMEA can do it.’
Stam added: ‘The Canadian and international trade union movements, including dockers’ unions around the globe, have pledged their solidarity with ILWU Canada. We will be joining picket lines across the West Coast and stand ready to escalate action if required.’
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is also urging the BCMEA to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair deal that meets the needs of the almost 7,500 port workers represented by the ILWU.
Key issues remaining include fair wages, protections against automation, and the contracting out of maintenance work.
‘These workers want wages that support their families and communities, and they want to know that their jobs are valued and secure,’ said Jan Simpson, CUPW National President.
‘CUPW is offering our full support and solidarity to the members of ILWU as their fight is a fight for all Canadian workers.
‘Collective bargaining is how working people gain a voice at work and the power to shape their working lives,’ added Simpson. ‘We know that the best deals are always negotiated in good faith at the bargaining table.’
In 2011, CUPW workers were legislated back to work by the Harper government and again in 2018 by the Trudeau government. The 2011 legislation was eventually ruled unconstitutional by the courts. However, the constitutionality of the 2018 back-to-work legislation is still being challenged in the courts.
Simpson went on: ‘Collective bargaining and the right to strike are fundamental rights, central to our democracy, protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
‘When governments impose back-to-work legislation, they undermine workers’ capacity to negotiate free and fair collective agreements.’
While many in corporate Canada are asking the federal government to intervene, CUPW is urging the government to respect workers’ right to strike, and rejects any calls for back-to-work legislation.
A major show of solidarity at Vancouver’s Jack Poole Plaza took place last Friday, as thousands of striking unionised port workers and their supporters rallied nine days into the continuing strike.
The job action has shut down port and cargo terminals up and down the West Coast.
The demonstration came as the union and their employer returned to the negotiating table with mediators last weekend.
Representatives from labour groups as far away as Australia and New Zealand spoke in support of the strikers, who continue to push for improved wages amid the growing cost of living and protection from what they see as an overuse of contractors for maintenance work.
ILWU Canada vice president Pat Bolen told the crowd the collective agreement lays out ‘very clearly’ that anything to do with the movement of cargo on docks or ships is the jurisdiction of the union, but says those powers have been eroded over several years as more contractors with ‘no skin in the game’ have been brought in.
The International Transport Workers Federation, representing 740 affiliated trade unions with 18.5 million workers from 150 countries, has voiced its support for the ILWU’s quest for a contract that reflects its members’ contributions to the Canadian economy.
‘B.C. shipping companies and terminals have made record profits during the pandemic as shipping costs have tripled through changes in the economy and buying habits,’ said ILWU Canada President Rob Ashton.
After talks stalled last Monday, the two sides were back at the negotiating table last Saturday, supported by federal mediators.
Business organisations and some politicians have publicly called for the federal government to bring in back-to-work legislation, but Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has said negotiations are the way to go.
The BCMEA issued a statement last Saturday evening saying it met with the ILWU Canada and proposed a committee and independent arbitrator to make recommendations related to key sticking points around maintenance work.
Other issues on the table include concerns around pay, the cost of living, and automation.
In its latest statement, the association said an arbitrator could make non-binding recommendations to help parties consider whether union members could perform some or all of the maintenance work in question.
The union did not immediately release its position on the meeting but has previously accused employers of waiting for the federal government to do their ‘dirty work’ instead of negotiating.
It’s unclear when the two sides will talk next, after talks came to a close late last Saturday. The employers association said it’s ‘awaiting further direction’ from federal mediators.