By: Thomas I. Likness
Eagle News Service

(Eagle News) — Dockworkers on Canada’s Pacific coast who had planned to be back on the picket lines Saturday have changed their minds.

The workers rejected a tentative deal reached last week that ended a 13-day strike.

It’s an on-again, off-again situation.

Shortly after the ratification vote on Tuesday, the workers walked off the job

Wednesday morning the Canada Industrial Relations Board declared the strike illegal, saying the union had failed to give employers 72 hours notice.

The union then gave the three-day strike notice with workers poised to walk off the job at 9:00 Saturday morning.

Now, the union has rescinded that notice after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked a crisis meeting to look at all options to keep the ports open.

“Workers and employers across Canada cannot face further disruption. We’ll keep working to ensure the stability of our supply chains and protect our economy,” Trudeau said late Wednesday in a statement on Twitter.

The labor dispute has affected 30 terminal ports on the west coast, creating a backlog of more than 63-thousand shipping containers.

Business groups say that will take months to clear.

Many companies have found themselves with shortages because their orders are stranded at port.

Some manufacturers have had to lay off staff.

Business groups have been pressuring the federal government to intervene and bring some stability to the situation.

Contract insufficient

The four-year deal would have given union members pay raises and improved benefits.

The union says it rejected the tentative deal because the contract is too long and doesn’t address cost-of-living and job security issues.

It says it is concerned about automation and contracting out maintenance work.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade estimates the dispute has cost the economy 10-billion dollars so far.
(Eagle News Service)