Union and non-union drayage drivers serving Port Metro Vancouver will likely strike at Canada’s largest container port as soon as Feb. 1 if the provincial government doesn’t meet their demands. There was no resolution to drayage drivers’ complaints that an agreed upon 14-point deal, which ended a strike last March, had been altered when Unifor, the Canadian labor union, and United Truckers Association, which represents non-union drivers, met with B.C. Minister of Transportation and the Federal Transport Minister on Thursday. The government representatives said they would respond in two weeks on whether they would make the demanded changes to Joint Action Plan or not.
“We came to an agreement to stabilize the (drayage industry) and now it’s not being honored,” Unifor President told JOC.com, who added that the Joint Action Plan changes, presumably sought by drayage companies, showed “weakness on behalf of the government.” If Unifor isn’t satisfied with the government’s response, Unifor drivers, which represents about 20 percent of the drivers at Vancouver, will vote whether to strike.
Livingston continues to track the ongoing labor negotiations and will post updates as they become available. We recommend you bookmark our West Coast port updates page and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest.
Source: Journal of Commerce