HR and Labour
BCMEA/ILWU 514 Negotiations
Discussions for the renewal of the expired ILWU Local 514 Collective Agreement continued until 2 am Sunday morning.
The BCMEA advised both the Federal Mediators and the Union that the BCMEA Negotiating Team will be reviewing, with the Direct Employers Committee, the Union's proposal which was presented to the BCMEA early Sunday morning.
Immediately following the meeting with the Direct Employers Committee (targeted to take place early in the week commencing January 05) the BCMEA committed to the Union and Mediators that it will respond to the Union's proposal at the earliest on Wednesday January 7th but in no case any later than Friday January 9th.
The date and time of the next meeting between the Parties will be communicated as soon as it has been set with the Federal Mediators and ILWU Local 514.
Additional information will be provided as significant events occur.
BCMEA and Local 514 Negotiations
The parties met on December 29th in the presence of two Federally appointed mediators and have agreed to meet again on Saturday January 3rd at 9:30 am.
Further up-dates will be provided as significant events occur.
Union Truckers to Hold Strike Vote
The Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest container port, now faces a second looming threat of a labor strike.
Canadian union truckers that service the port voted unanimously on Dec. 21 to support their bargaining committee and to hold a strike authorization vote in January as part of an effort to win new contracts.
The move comes on the heels of a threatened January strike by union docker foremen that service the Canadian West Coast ports.
The Vancouver Container Truck Association/Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents about 750 truck drivers that service the port, allege that more than half of the port-servicing trucking firms are undercutting union contract-guaranteed rates for the drivers.
The current collective agreements between companies and union members expire on Dec. 31.
NEWS Release - BC Ports at Risk for Shutdown
The Chamber of Shipping, the leading voice for our Province’s marine carriers and others working with the Pacific Gateway, are calling on industry and labour to find an immediate solution to the current impasse in negotiations between the BC Maritime Employers Association and ILWU Local 514. Negotiations between the two sides are not progressing and the union has approved a strike vote that could initiate a stoppage as early as January 2, 2009.
“With the highly volatile global economy in recession, it is imperative that our Pacific Gateway remain open,” said Captain Stephen Brown, President of the Chamber of Shipping. “At a time when BC businesses are hurting and jobs are at risk, we believe that the deal being advanced by the employers through BCMEA represents a generous and respectful offer. It is expected that job action by the union would lead to all of BC’s major ports shutting down.
The current worldwide economic slowdown has made the transportation sector even more competitive. Canada’s Pacific Gateway faces strong competition from US coastal ports. The BC Chamber of Shipping has already seen significant shifts by carriers, particularly on the cargo and container side, to these competing ports. “We are proud of BC’s Pacific Gateway that our governments, businesses and workers have built together but we are deeply concerned that a shutdown during this economically uncertain time will jeopardize that success,” added Brown.
Canada Reaches Agreement with PSAC
The Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Government of Canada have reached fair and reasonable agreements on wages for about 100,000 employees and the Public Service Alliance of Canada has agreed to withdraw its two pay equity complaints.
Tentative four-year agreements were reached with the Public Service Alliance of Canada for four of its bargaining units: the Program and Administrative Services (PA) Group; the Education and Library Science (EB) Group; the Operational Services Group (SV) and the Border Services (FB) Group.
View News Release.
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