30 Ports And 49 Terminals Are Affected! Canadian Port Strike!

 

 

Since Saturday, July 1, port workers on Canada's west coast have been on strike. According to foreign media reports, labor talks broke down on July 3 after a four-day strike at Canadian ports on the west coast.

As a result of the strike, vessel cargo loading and unloading at Canada's west coast ports has been suspended since June 30, with ships stranded in 30 ports and a backlog of cargo worth as much as $19 billion, a figure that is expected to grow.

Canadian port strikes continue

More than 30 ports and 49 terminals have been affected

On July 4, about 7,400 workers in more than 30 ports in British Columbia, Canada, located on the Pacific coast, went on strike since July 1, affecting more than 30 ports and 49 terminals, including Canada's largest And the third largest port Vancouver and Prince Rupert. At present, the strike is still going on, and the negotiation between labor and management has basically reached a deadlock.

The strike was organized by the Canadian chapter of the International Port Warehouse Workers Union (ILWU). The owner is the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents 49 companies.

It is understood that the key contradictions in the strike are wages, outsourcing of maintenance work, and port automation.

Negotiations between the Canadian International Longshore and Storage Workers Union (ILWU) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA ) began in February and the contract expired at the end of March. Negotiations resumed on July 3 after a brief pause to allow the two sides to take a break after a marathon 33-hour meeting.

In a statement, the ILWU said the BCMEA had "willfully undermined" the progress made on the outsourced maintenance work. And on the issue of wages, ILWU quoted the news that the minimum wage in Canada has risen by 7%, saying that its members have the right to increase accordingly.

The BCMEA believes that continuing negotiations will not result in a collective agreement at this time. The Canadian ILWU will need to decide whether to continue the unresolved strike, or revise their position substantially in order to reach a fair deal.

The western port has not serviced any ships since June 30, and the ships were "hanging out" after arriving at the port.

According to the statistics website, the port and shipping industry has contributed 2.7 billion Canadian dollars to Canada's GDP, and the goods handled account for about 16% of the country's total trade, reaching 180 billion Canadian dollars in 2020.

Due to the strike, the western Canadian ports have not served any ships since June 30, and the ships have been "hanging out" after arriving at the port, which has led to ship congestion, a backlog of trade, and a total of 30 ports on Canada's west coast have come to a standstill.

Included in the labor conflict are the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, which together handle and ship nearly 20 percent of U.S. trade. Products moving through these ports include critical auto parts such as brakes and other automotive and manufacturing components, holiday items and consumer goods.

Charlotte Cook, senior trade analyst at VesselsValue, said: “Strike action at the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert could have a significant impact on transpacific cargo flows, with these ports typically accepting an average of 34 containers per month. ship or 289,700 TEU."

The total value of the 289,700 containers drifting from the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert came to $19 billion, based on a value of $65,225 per container and Canadian customs data.

A week of strikes disrupted more than 550 million Canadian dollars in goods

Robin Guy, vice-president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, urged the Canadian government to intervene immediately to prevent disruption to Canadian supply chains. He argues that the government should pass legislation to put dock workers back to work in order to protect the disruption of more than $600 million worth of cargo flowing through the West Coast.

Matthew Holmes, senior vice-president of policy and government relations at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, also said the strike would "cause serious damage" to the Canadian economy.

“With roughly $800 million in cargo moving through British Columbia ports every day, a week of disruption to West Coast ports would disrupt trade for the Canadian economy by more than $550 million.”

The Retail Council of Canada did not call for a back-to-work order, saying the government should put pressure on the negotiating parties to provide the necessary incentives to reach a settlement. The Vancouver Board of Trade is also asking Ottawa to use every tool at its disposal to secure an agreement to resume port activity.