British Columbia ILWU Port Workers end Lockout

British Columbia ILWU Port Workers end Lockout

ILWU Lockout Ends

After days of hype and anticipation, it only took about 3 hours of an actual lockout before the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union – Canada (ILWU) came to a tentative agreement.  Around 6,500 British Columbia port workers began the lockout after the workers’ union and the association representing port employers failed to reach a deal by the 8 a.m. PT lockout deadline on Thursday, May 30, 2019.  Release of the tentative agreement details are pending union members cast ratification votes, according to CBC News.

Patty Hajdu, a member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Superior North and Minister of Employment, Workforce Development & Labour tweeted the following:

Today I issued the following statement regarding the collective bargaining negotiations between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union – Canada (ILWU) pic.twitter.com/bunHDS1vCZ

— Patty Hajdu (@PattyHajdu) May 30, 2019

West Coast Disruption

CBC News went on to state, “The BCMEA said disruption at B.C.’s ports could have cost the Canadian economy about $5 billion a day. The Chamber of Shipping of B.C., which represents the ships that move cargo in and out of Canada, said recovery after a lockout ends would also be costly….’We estimate it takes a month to recover from every week lost due to labour disruptions, so it’s huge on the entire Canadian economy,’ said chamber president Robert Lewis-Manning, speaking over the phone after the lockout began.”